A Clan Ephemeral
by DynastyKit
Summary: Akechi Mitsuhide attempts to lead his faltering clan through the turbulent times of Sengoku Japan. This will be a long fic and will include nearly every character of Samurai Warriors in some fashion; Oda Clan members will understandably be the most prominent of the Samurai Warriors cast. (Rating may be changed from T to M due to battlefield violence).
1. Chapter 1

"Do we have to train in this weather?" The young Akechi Yasuhide groaned while looking down at his feet as he walked, carefully avoiding stepping into any mud puddles created by the light rain above.

"And this early, too?" Akechi Mitsutada yawned and attempted to keep his oil-paper wagasa covering him from the rain as he stretched.

"Don't you two ever want to honor our family? We must practice everyday until we can beat Mitsuhide!" Akechi Mitsuharu remarked, trying to act as if he were unperturbed by waking up before dawn, and by travelling through the rain.

Akechi Mitsuhide, who was leading his family, stopped in a large patch of grass, and turned towards them. "Yasu, Tada." He called them by their nicknames affectionately. "Haru is right, this is how my grandfather taught me, and now I'm teaching you all." He smiled.

Tada bowed to his cousin, Mitsuhide, and Yasu followed suit. "I'm sorry, brother." Yasu uttered as he lifted his head.

Mitsuhide sat down on his knees, holding his wagasa over his head. In his other hand, he wielded a bokken, which was an exact wooden replica of his katana that was fastened around his waist. "Alright, let's get started."

The other three spread out in a triangular formation around Mitsuhide; they each dropped their wagasas, and brandished their own bokken. Yasu walked out in front of Mitsuhide. Yasu had wide eyes and a round and chubby young face that was brimming with confidence. His hair was cut short and barely reached his shoulders. He shared the same hair color as his brother, Mitsuhide, dark hair with a purple tint. Yasu wielded a bokken fashioned after an wakizashi, since he was not able to hold a larger weapon. In addition to being the youngest member of the family, just a teen, he was small even for his age. Yasu didn't enjoy combat; although he had been training since he could walk, he still was far too weak and fragile to fight and the other members of the Akechi worried that he would not be able to live up to their family name, especially that of Mitsuhide's.

The second youngest was Mitsutada. A the dark eyed man with short, messy hair was by far the largest and strongest member of the Akechi. Built like a warrior, Tada had broad shoulders and a body composed of well-defined muscles. His strong jawline and scruffy facial hair made him popular among any potential wives. However, Tada's tough look was misleading. Instead of being the proud, confident warrior that he appeared to be, he was actually very timid and shy, and this showed even in combat. When Tada fought, he became nervous and unsure of his attacks; he regularly would not follow through with his movements, which would give his opponents many openings in battle. Tada's bokken was in the shape of an large odachi, although his preferred weapon was the much larger, bone-crushing club, the kanabo. With his inhuman strength, he could even wield his human-sized wooden club with ease.

The oldest of Mitsuhide's three trainees was Mitsuharu, who also went by Haru. who carried honor and duty above all else much like Mitsuhide. Haru had an average build, not large like his younger brother, Tada, yet not small like his younger cousin, Yasu. He had a slim face and all of his facial features were petite. Two qualities that he picked up from Mitsuhide, who acted as his older brother for a while, were always staying clean-shaven and refusing to cut his hair. Instead, Haru wore his sleek, jet black hair in a large and messy ponytail that reached to his lower back.

Since the two were around the same age, Haru was just barely old enough to spend some time training with Mitsuhide and his grandfather while his grandfather was still alive. Thus Haru was already well-trained; his skills with his katana almost rivaling that of Mitsuhide's. However, even with the help of both Yasu and Tada, Haru has never been able to defeat Mitsuhide, but he was determined to change that this dreary day.

Mitsuhide was the patriarch and oldest male member of the Akechi Clan. His father died soon after he was born, and he became the heir and eventual leader of the Akechi after his grandfather passed away a few years after his father. Due to Mitsuhide growing up with his cousin, Haru, they had much in common yet subtle differences between them. While they both had beautiful, silky, long hair, Haru kept his hair messy, Mitsuhide made sure to keep his purple tinged ponytail neat. Mitsuhide and Haru both held honor very highly, but Mitsuhide wasn't as strict in his ways as Haru.

"Alright, I'm ready when you are." Mitsuhide smiled at Yasu who was standing a few dozen feet in front of him, with Mitsuhide on his knees, they were about the same height.

The three stood there in silence, all waiting for Mitsuhide to drop his wagasa. The three surrounding him awkwardly looked at each other for a minute. When it became apparent that Mitsuhide wasn't going to drop oil-paper umbrella, Haru decided to speak. "Mitsuhide... We are waiting for you to put away your wagasa..."

"Is that what's taking you three so long? Don't worry about this old thing. Come at me." The three looked at each other with puzzled faces; they knew that was Mitsuhide's favorite umbrella, given to him by an old friend, yet he called it an 'old thing'.

Yasu shrugged at his two cousins, and then held up his bokken, charging straight for Mitsuhide first. Mitsuhide's smile grew as he watched his naive brother run at him, he lifted his bokken and blocked Yasu's swing at him. At that point Mitsuhide heard sloshy steps behind him, getting closer and closer. Mitsuhide easily pushed the smaller Yasu away, making Yasu stumble backwards before tripping into a muddy puddle, Mitsuhide then hopped to his feet and swung around towards the other two. Tada and Haru were only a few steps away when Mitsuhide stepped back and stuck his wagasa out towards them. Both of them attempted to stop before they ran into Mitsuhide's umbrella, causing them to slip and fall onto their backs in mud.

Mitsuhide laughed as he stood over his family members, each of them now covered in mud. "This is why I brought you to train in the rain. You must always be aware of your surroundings, and use them to your advantage." Mitsuhide waited for the three of them to get back onto their feet. "Now, let's try this ag-" Suddenly, a young girl shrieked and began calling out for help.

The four of them quickly looked to the sound of the scream, Mitsuhide dropped his bokken and began running in the direction of the girl's cries, unsheathing his katana while he ran. "Come on!" He ordered, and the three others followed him. They ran through a group of trees, and on the other side, a small girl kneeled over a body on the floor. She was sobbing loudly as the four Akechis approached.

The girl gasped as she heard their footsteps and turned her head just enough to see who was approaching. When she saw their swords, she crawled over the body and tried to stand up before Mitsuhide called to her. "Wait! We're not here to hurt you!" She stopped and turned to the Akechi men, she was shaking and her dress was covered in blood.

Haru looked down at the body that the girl was kneeling over just moments before. He discovered a motionless male corpse with multiple splotches of blood all over its clothes. The three others watched as Haru stepped up to the body, checking for any vital signs. "Dead..." He uttered as he looked back to the rest of his group.

That single word conclusion caused the girl to burst into tears. "Oh no! Please no!"

Mitsuhide slid his Katana back into its sheath and slowly walked over to the girl, who couldn't have even been a teen, placed his hand on her shoulder and kneeled to get eye level with her. "What happened to your father? We will make sure that he gets justice." He spoke softly to the trembling, sobbing girl.

"Wh-What good is justice when he's dead!?" She cried out shakily.

"Please." Mitsuhide insisted, but continued in a gentle tone. "We don't want anymore good men like him to die for no reason."

The girl took a deep breath and rubbed her wet, red eyes. "Th-There was some soldiers..." She paused and looked at Mitsuhide, who gave her a comforting smile. "They got in a fight with daddy... They argued and yelled to each other... And then... Then..."

Mitsuhide could see she was about to break down again, so he intervened. "Argued about what?"

She tried drying her face with her sleeve before talking again. "They wanted him to join them... They said they were gonna go take down Lord Saito, but my father wouldn't do it..."

Mitsuhide involuntarily squeezed her shoulder in surprise, she let out a small whimper but Mitsuhide payed no attention as he was deep in thought. The Saito Clan that Mitsuhide served had recently been in turmoil since rumors began circulating that Saito Dosan, the lord of Mino, had decided to name one of his younger sons as heir instead of his oldest son, Saito Yoshitatsu. This worried Yoshitatsu, who quickly took action and murdered a number of his brothers, and began plotting against his father. Now it seemed that Yoshitatsu had finally made his move and rallied his men to attack Dosan in an attempt to overthrow his father and gain control of Mino. Mitsuhide knew that Yoshitatsu was very cunning and must have amassed a large number of troops to finally attack Dosan.

Mitsuhide stood up and hugged the girl reassuringly. "Go home to your family, we will take care of your father's body." The girl quickly disappeared into the forest. Mitsuhide motioned for the others to follow him and began walking away.

"Hey brother! You said we were going to take care of the body!" Yasu ran next to him and started walking beside him.

Mitsuhide looked up at the darkening sky, the rain had stopped but the sky was now becoming dense with black clouds. "Yasuhide." He spoke somberly. "Soon there will be thousands of more bodies we will have to take care of."

"You don't actually think... That Yoshitatsu is after Lord Dosan's head?" Mitsuhide nodded before Tada finished.

"Mitsuhide." Haru spoke up as they walked on with Mitsuhide leading them. "Where are we going?" Mitsuhide didn't answer, so Haru persisted sternly. "Mitsuhide, where are we going?"

Mitsuhide sighed. "Home."

Haru knew this answer was coming and responded sharply. "You know we should be going to battle instead. We cannot abandon Lord Dosan!"

Mitsuhide stopped walking and quickly turned around, the other three were caught off guard as they all flinched. Mitsuhide spoke to Haru in a hushed, yet harsh tone. "Mitsuharu! I'm not having this argument with you right now! We will get our family to safety first, and then help defend Dosan!" Haru's face turned red and his breathing got heavy, yet he nodded to Mitsuhide, who turned and continued walking. It was not uncommon for the two of them to argue, but Mitsuhide had never snapped like that before; he was in no mood to mess around in the face of an impending crisis.

Finally they arrived at Inabayama Castle, Saito Yoshitatsu's castle, also near where the Akechi family lived. The castle and surrounding area was in a frenzy when they arrived. Troops were lining up and marching. Civilians and soldiers were being rounded up and executed, the sole reason being that they supported Saito Dosan. Mitsuhide feared that this was the fate that awaited him and his family as well, so he rushed to the Akechi mansion.


	2. Chapter 2

In a large room, a young woman sat and anxiously stroked her long, black hair while an older woman played a gentle tune on a shamisen. Each strum helped to sooth the young woman, who closed her eyes and began whistling along with the shamisen. The melody echoed throughout the empty manor, where it briefly continued even after the musician had stopped.

The older of the two gave off a wise aura, her hair was turning grey and her face began to wrinkle. Being a very traditional woman, she had her hair tied back with a large comb and many ornate pieces holding it together. Her light brown eyes were sharp; her nose was slim and pointy. Although a strict and mean old woman in appearance, she was always well-mannered with good intentions.

The younger woman was dressed very conservatively; she was wearing a long white dress covered in purple bellflowers. Her sleeves reached her hands while her arms were wrapped in bandages up to her elbows- only her fingers were exposed. Her legs were in a similar state, her ankles were wrapped in bandages up to her knees. Even inside her own home, she had a hood pulled over head, trying her best to hide her face from being seen. However, despite all the covering up she did, she had long, shiny black hair flowing over her shoulders and down the front of her dress.

The aged woman set down the shamisen and gently ran her thumb across the younger woman's scar ridden face. "How do you feel?" The older woman asked as she stopped examining the other's scars and looked into the her eyes.

The young woman sighed as she slumped over. "Still worried."

"Sit up, that's bad for your back." The older woman stood up and walked out of the room.

"Of course, Lady Chieko." She muttered as she sat up straight.

Toki Chieko returned with cups of tea for the both of them; leaving behind a trail of steam from the other room. "Hiroko. Don't you worry about them, they'll be back."

"I know, but..." Hiroko paused and took a sip of her tea. "Still, it hurts to think of all the horrible things that could happen to him..."

"I'm his mother, trust me, you'll ge-" She was silenced by the room's sliding doors opening.

Hiroko gasped and got onto her feet as quickly as she could in her dress. She ran to the door and greeted Mitsuhide with a tight hug. "Darling! I was so worried!"

Mitsuhide smiled and wrapped his arms around Hiroko. "I was worried about you too, my love."

Hiroko smiled up at him. "I thought you went to battle without telling us, I was scared that I wouldn't have gotten to say goodbye..."

"Of course not, I'd never make you worry like that." Mitsuhide gazed into Hiroko's eyes now.

Hiroko looked away and grumbled. "I worry every time you go out, you know..."

Mitsuhide sighed and squeezed her tightly. "Let's not get into this right now, dear. We have to leave Inabayama, so go gather whatever you need."

"Leave? But why?" Hiroko questioned.

Before Mitsuhide could respond, Mitsuharu stepped around the two lovers and into the mansion. "Our family has served Dosan for generations, even when the Aunt Chieko's family ruled, and we refuse to tarnish the Akechi name by serving a traitor such as Yoshitatsu!"

Mitsuhide let go of Hiroko and nodded. "And there's no doubt that Yoshitatsu and his conspirators know this. Since he hasn't come after us already, we must use this opportunity to escape."

Chieko sighed as Haru, Tada and Yasu all stepped into the room. "Did you all have to get so muddy out there?"

The three looked down at themselves, their clothes and shoes were covered in mud. "Sorry, mom..." Yasu apologized.

"Mother, there's really no time for that now!" Mitsuhide complained.

"Well, I don't want everyone to think our clan is full of a bunch of dirty, misbehaven children!" Chieko responded.

Mitsuhide rolled his eyes before speaking. "Go change as fast as you can and grab anything essential; we're leaving as soon as possible."

They all agreed and split up to gather various items to bring on the trip to safety. After a couple of minutes the six of them left their mansion on horseback. As they passed by Inabayama Castle this time, it seemed nearly abandoned- save for the piles of dead and dying- and every other able body went with Saito Yoshitatsu to attack Saito Dosan.


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you so much for those of you that reviewed my fic so far! It means so much!

I'm glad you're enjoying it, Arashi! Your fic is amazing too and I can't wait to see what happens in it as well!

Guest Warrior brought up some important questions that I would like to address. In regards to historical/fictional sources, history/canon, and my own imagination, I got my inspiration for this fic from Truman Capote's In Cold Blood. If you are unfamiliar with that novel, it is basically partially based off of the author's imagination but also heavily influenced by actual historical events. My fic is going to be very similar as I would like to blend history and my own imagination to create what I myself would like to see if Samurai Warriors were almost exclusively centered around Mitsuhide and the Akechi.

As for your questions about age, I plan to mention it but it will not be heavily focused on. Most of my characters are based off of their Samurai Warriors counterparts, and as I would love to see aging in the actual games, there will be slight changes to characters as time progresses, but it will hardly be a drastic change except in cases where a character may die of old age or other certain exceptions like childhood and coming of age.

I do plan for this fic to be a bit more realistic than Samurai Warriors itself, but I still want to keep the flare of Samurai Warriors. While characters will have certain inhuman abilities like their in-game counterparts, one should not expect characters to be leaping over castle walls or making the ground crack and split with ease.

I hope I covered all of your questions! Enjoy the rest of my fic!

* * *

From the overlooking mountain, Inabayama, they could see the armies of Dosan and Yoshitatsu, split only by the river called the Nagaragawa. Mitsuhide stopped his horse and watched as the two armies began to battle. He couldn't help feeling guilty as he watched his lord Dosan's relatively small army attack Yoshitatsu's large army. Hiroko, who was also riding on Mitsuhide's horse, wrapped her arms around Mitsuhide's waist and embraced her lover. She laid her head on his shoulder and spoke in a hushed yet optimistic tone. "Mitsuhide... I think what you're doing is very noble. Your grandfather would be very proud that you're saving your family."

Mitsuhide sighed and smiled back at her. "Thank you, love. Your support means the world to me."

"Hiroko, Mitsuhide!" Haru, who was at the head of the group, growled. "I'm fully capable of leading us to Akechi Castle myself! So if you two want to stay here and keep loving it up, that's fine by me!"

"Mitsuharu! That's no way to talk to your older cousin!" Chieko, who was riding with Haru, scolded him, and then looked back at Mitsuhide and Hiroko. "He's right, though. We shouldn't waste any time." Mitsuhide nodded in agreement and they continued riding at a steady pace, not wanting to tire their horses out as it was a long trek to Akechi Castle.

Only a few minutes into the journey, the silence began to bother Yasu, who was riding with his cousin Tada. "So... What happens when we get to Akechi Castle?"

Everyone else had the same question, so no one answered. Hiroko nudged Mitsuhide, who had been staring blankly at the sky, worrying about the future of his clan. "Huh?" Mitsuhide had missed the question completely as he was lost in thought.

Hiroko whispered into his ear. "Tell Yasu what we're gonna do once we get to Akechi Castle."

"Oh." Mitsuhide looked ahead of him to see everyone else looking back at him. "Well, we're going to wait."

"Wait?" Yasu questioned.

Mitsuhide responded somberly. "Yes. If Lord Dosan defeats Yoshitatsu, then everything returns to normal. If Yoshitatsu defeats Lord Dosan... I don't know."

"Okay... Maybe we can get some of Dosan's friends to he-"

"Yasu! Shh!" It was unlike the quiet Tada to silence someone, especially without any pretext, the rest of the Akechi family gave him curious looks and awaited for him to continue. "Everyone, stop your horses!" Tada spoke in a quiet, yet urgent tone and stopped his horse, the rest did the same.

Now the rest of them heard what Tada heard; there was a second party riding through the forested area. However, soon after Mitsuhide's group stopped, the unknown group became silent, except for the occasional neigh of a horse. Everyone looked to Mitsuhide for guidance, but before he could respond, a booming voice shouted orders. "State who you are, or we will attack!"

Fortunately, the intimidating voice was a voice that the Akechi group recognized. "Toshizo! It's Mitsuhide! Don't shoot!"

"Mitsuhide? Akechi Mitsuhide?" Toshizo's loud voice was no longer threatening after they realized it was a friend.

"Of course it's Akechi Mitsuhide!" Mitsuhide said as he dismounted his horse, but stopped his wife after she tried to dismount also. "Stay here." He told her quietly.

As Toshizo and his soldiers revealed themselves, Haru and Tada also dismounted their horses. Saito Toshizo was a nephew of Saito Dosan, and a well-trained spearman. Toshizo led a party that was a mix of a few spearmen and cavalry men. Mitsuhide and Toshizo hugged each other; the Akechi had always been close with the Saito so they knew each other since childhood. "It's great to see you again, Mitsuhide, but I have troubling news..." Toshizo hung his head in despair.

"What's wrong?" Mitsuhide looked behind Toshizo,and noticed something unsettling. Toshizo's men carried two banners, one bearing the symbol for the Saito clan, and the other bearing Saito Yoshitatsu's name.

"Yoshitatsu sent me here to capture you..."

Mitsuhide sighed. "Toshizo, we both know what Yoshitatsu is going to do if you bring us to him."

Toshizo shook his head and put his hand on Mitsuhide's shoulder. "You don't know that. I know you must not trust Yoshitatsu, but he's not a bad person."

"Is that why he's out there murdering his own father?" Mitsuhide sharply responded as he brushed away Toshizo's hand.

Toshizo took a few steps back. "Mitsuhide, don't do this. I don't want to have to bring you by force."

"Then just let my family and I go!" Mitsuhide rose his voice and stepped forward, even with a small armed force behind Toshizo, Mitsuhide was sure he could intimidate Toshizo to let them go.

Toshizo's eyes glanced to the left, and as his eyes fell back to Mitsuhide, his entire demeanor suddenly changed. He stood his ground and spoke louder. "Mitsuhide, I can't do that!"

"And why not?" Mitsuhide was surprised but unfazed.

Before Mitsuhide got a response, a gunshot fired off that took everyone but Toshizo by surprise. Except for those trying to settle their startled horses, everyone looked towards the source of the shot. Out of the brush walked two young men with a group of soldiers following them. The young man with a smug grin who was holding the gun responsible was Saito Tatsuoki, the son of Yoshitatsu. His bright faced companion standing next to him was Takenaka Hanbei, the young genius had his arms crossed and his head tilted.

"Well well, if it isn't Mitsuhide and his family?" Tatsuoki snickered as he handed his gun over to Hanbei, who begrudgingly took it and began reloading it.

"Tatsuoki! I've got this under control!" Toshizo scowled at Tatsuoki.

"Hmph! You should know who you're speaking to! I'm going to be your lord one day!" Tatsuoki responded angrily, before turning his attention back to Mitsuhide. "Well Mitsuhide. This is the great Akechi family that my grandfather loves so much?" Tatsuoki spoke arrogantly as he took his gun back from Hanbei.

Hanbei sighed and rubbed his cheek, muttering under his breath. "Here we go..."

Tatsuoki begin examining all of the members of the Akechi family, and his eyes locked with Hiroko, who began to quiver with fear. Tatsuoki grinned and rubbed his chin as he stared at her. "I've heard you're known for being ugly and scarred, woman of Mitsuhide. Maybe you should take off the dress and show us if that's true?"

"Tatsuoki! Leave her alone!" Mitsuhide shouted as he reached for his katana. However, as Mitsuhide gripped his hilt, Tatsuoki pointed his gun at Hiroko, causing her to squeal.

Mitsuhide's eyes widened and his heart began pounding as he watched his wife tremble and begin to cry. Tatsuoki sneered at her. "Take off the dress. Now!"

Hiroko, still mounted on Mitsuhide's horse, looked to Mitsuhide with tearful eyes. Mitsuhide's own eyes began to water, but he swallowed his pride and nodded to her. "Hiroko, it'll be okay..."

Toshizo had had enough of Tatsuoki's disrespect and rudeness. While the rest of the Saito troops watched intently as Hiroko pulled off her hood and began untying her dress, he leaned in and whispered to Mitsuhide who was only a step away. "I'm going to distract Tatsuoki... Your next move is up to you." Mitsuhide gave a slight nod and awaited the distraction, keeping his hand tightly around the hilt of his katana that was kept in its sheath.

A moment later, Toshizo suddenly shouted and pointed behind Tatsuoki and his party. "Lord Tatsuoki! It's Dosan! He's headed this way!"

The trick worked and everyone looked in that direction. While they were distracted, Mitsuhide lunged forward and unsheathed his katana, quickly slicing Tatsuoki's musket in half. While everyone was still realizing what just happened, Mitsuhide lifted his katana above his head and sliced down towards Tatsuoki. Fortunately for Tatsuoki, Hanbei used his bladed sundial to stop Mitsuhide's blade just inches from Tatsuoki's head.

"Chieko! Hiroko! Yasu! Run!" Tada yelled as he pulled out his massive kanaboi. The three obeyed his command, riding their horses away and leaving Mitsuhide, Tada, and Haru alone with no easy method of escape.

Tatsuoki, who had fallen to the floor after Mitsuhide and Hanbei's weapons clashed, started crawling behind his soldiers. "Attack! Attack them!"

While Tatsuoki barked orders and his men closed in on Mitsuhide and his cousins, Toshizo, armed with his short spear, turned towards his men. "I'm going to help Mitsuhide! Any who object can tell it to my spear!"

One of Toshizo's most loyal companions, Kani Saizo, a strange young samurai with wild, unkempt hair who fought with two naginatas and kept fresh bamboo stalks protruding out of the back of his armor, shouted loudly in support for Toshizo. "Lord Toshizo! We would follow you to the end of the earth!" Even though he was Yoshitatsu's son, Tatsuoki was despised throughout the Saito for being so ill-mannered and neglectful, so it didn't take much for Toshizo and his soldiers to turn on him.

Rain had began falling again as the fighting across Mino continued. Unbeknownst to the smaller group of belligerents, Yoshitatsu's army was wiping out the remnants of Dosan's army; Dosan himself had already fallen on the battlefield. On the smaller battlefield in the middle of the forest on Inabayama, Mitsuhide and Toshizo's soldiers clearly had the advantage over Tatsuoki's, and Takenaka Hanbei realized this. Overall ten soldiers out of the fifty were killed, and all of them were Tatsuoki's soldiers.

Hanbei pulled himself away from the fighting, and began pondering on how to get everyone to stop and listen to him. He knew that the only way his soldiers could survive is if he stopped the fighting. Out of the corner of his eye, Hanbei saw Tatsuoki cowering behind a tree. "Ah, perfect!" Hanbei exclaimed as an idea finally came to him. He walked over to Tatsuoki and whispered to him. "Tatsuoki, I'm gonna pretend to take you hostage. Just play along."

"Huh?" Tatsuoki hadn't heard anything that Hanbei said, but before he could protest, Hanbei yanked him out from behind the tree and held one of the blades on his sundial up to Tatsuoki's neck.

"Everyone! Stop fighting! I'm going to kill Tatsuoki!" Hanbei yelled in an attempt to get everyone's attention, yet they were too locked in combat to hear his soft voice.

"HANBEI! LET GO OF ME RIGHT NOW!" Tatsuoki's booming cries were loud enough to momentarily stop the fighting and make everyone look at the two.

"Wow, good acting, Tatsuoki!" Hanbei smiled and cleared his voice. "Everyone! Aren't we all just soldiers of the Saito? Why are we tearing ourselves apart?" Hanbei paused for a second, as if he was going to let someone respond. "Everyone! Loyal soldiers of the Saito! Let's stop killing each other and just go our separate ways." After hearing Hanbei's words, both sides stood down and separated, but kept their guard up.

He finally dropped Tatsuoki, who got up and growled at him. "What the hell, Hanbei!?"

Hanbei crossed his arms and pouted at Tatsuoki. "Don't yell at me like that! I just saved our lives!"

On the other side, Mitsuhide and Toshizo tried to sort out what to do next. They had all managed to escape without any major injuries. Toshizo put his bloody spear away and gave three of his men's horses to the Akechi group. "Mitsuhide, Mitsuharu, please take my horses. You need to get to Akechi Castle. There's no doubt that Yoshitatsu has won, and that's going to be his next target."

Mitsuhide sighed and mounted one of the horses. "Toshizo, come with us. Yoshitatsu will kill you for this!"

Toshizo shook his head and bowed to Mitsuhide. "Thank you for the offer, but I must go to my lord."

Haru mounted a horse also, he was still breathing heavily from the skirmish. "You may serve a traitor, Toshizo, but at least you serve him with honor."

Toshizo smiled and bowed to Haru as well. "Hopefully, you all make it to Akechi Castle safe, and the rest of your family as well."

Mitsuhide's eyes widened and he gasped as he remembered Hiroko, Chieko, and Yasu. "Ah! I don't know if they know the way to the castle!"

Toshizo lifted his head and smiled as he watched them quickly ride away. "Until next time, Mitsuhide!"


	4. Chapter 4

Mitsuhide, Mitsuharu and Mitsutada rode as hard as they could towards Akechi Castle. The trip became uneasy as they got closer and closer to their stronghold with no sign of Yasuhide, Hiroko and Chieko. After a few hours of riding through the rain, they approached Akechi Castle. At the gates, they dismounted and Mitsuhide quickly went up to one of the guards. "Has anyone else arrived at the castle recently?"

"No, Lord Akechi. Should we be expecting someone?" The guard asked as he bowed to Mitsuhide.

Mitsuhide sighed. "Stay on the lookout for a small party of three. Two women and a child on horses." The guard bowed to him again and Mitsuhide then spoke solemnly to Haru and Tada. "They never made it. I'm going to go organize some search parties."

As Haru was wringing out his long hair, he frowned at Mitsuhide. "We don't have the time or the men for search parties! You heard Toshizo, Yoshitatsu will be headed here next once he defeats Dosan!"

Mitsuhide narrowed his eyes at Haru. "Just because you're jealous of our marriage, doesn't mean you need to want her to die."

"How dare you!?" Haru snapped at Mitsuhide. "I care about all of them just as much as you do! But we can't risk the lives of everyone at this castle for those three!"

As much as it hurt Mitsuhide, he realized that Haru was right. "You're right, Mitsuharu. We should prepare the defenses of the castle." Mitsuhide sighed and walked into the castle.

Haru and Tada looked at each other in surprise, it wasn't usual for Mitsuhide to give in like that. Before the two of them entered the castle, however, a guard shouted and pointed off into the distance. "There's a party approaching the castle!"

Haru and Tada looked and spotted a group of roughly fifty men on horses riding towards the castle. "Who's flag are they flying!?" Haru shouted.

One of the guards looked through a spyglass at the group. "I believe it's the flag of the Tsumaki!"

"Oh no," Haru groaned. "I finally get Mitsuhide to think reasonably and now that fool and his father have to show up..."

"Lord Mitsuharu, shall we alert Lord Mitsuhide of their arrival?" A guard asked.

Haru shook his head. "No, he doesn't need to be bothered with something like this. I'll handle it."

The Tsumaki rode up to the gates, with the clan's leader, the old and wise Tsumaki Hirotada leading them. Next to him was his young, raucous son: Tsumaki Sadanori. He rode out ahead of his father to Haru and Tada, and began spewing out demands. "Where is my sister?! We've come to take her home!"

Haru crossed his arms and responded sternly. "She's Mitsuhide's wife. He does not have to give her up, even to you."

Before his son could reply, Hirotada stepped in. "It is unfortunate that we must take her, but during these turbulent times in Mino, I wish to have my family all together. We simply wish for an audience with Mitsuhide."

"With all due respect, Lord Hirotada, Mitsuhide is extremely busy due to Yoshitatsu's sudden betrayal. We plan to resist Yoshitatsu, and there's no doubt that we have the Tsumaki's support, yes?"

Hirotada and Sadanori shot each other glances before Hirotada continued. "Well... The Tsumaki have decided to not take part in this conflict. Yoshitatsu has already promised us the safety of the Tsumaki as long as we do not fight against him."

Haru shook his head in disappointment. "You people sicken me! Turning your backs on Dosan after all he's done for Mino."

"Ah, you just don't understand, young one. If you wish for you and your family to survive in this world we live in today, sometimes honor and loyalty must come second."

Haru got quiet and didn't respond, he couldn't respond. Mitsuhide stepped between his two cousins and bowed to Hirotada. "Lord Hirotada, I have...," He stopped and sighed. "unpleasant news."

"What is it, Lord Mitsuhide?" Hirotada slowly climbed off of his horse, and bowed in return.

"Hiroko... Is missing." Mitsuhide said hesitantly.

"What!?" Sadanori jumped off of his horse and stomped up to Mitsuhide, snatching him by his collar. "Where is my sister!?"

Mitsuhide let out a shaky sigh, his eyes were red and it was obvious that he had been crying. "I don't know, Sadanori. I am truly sorry." Sadanori quickly realized that Mitsuhide was just as distraught as he was, and let him go.

They all went inside and sat in the council room of the castle. Mitsuhide explained what had happened in the previous hours. Hirotada stroked his small, white beard after hearing Mitsuhide's story. "It's truly a shame that father and son must go to war. Times just seem to be getting worse and worse..." Everyone let out murmur of agreement. "Well, we understand your situation now, please allow us to search for Hiroko, you must build up your defenses, Lord Mitsuhide."

Mitsuhide nodded to him. "Thank you, and if you find my mother and brother with Hiroko, please take them to Tsumaki Castle as well."

"Of course. I must beg your pardon, but we will begin searching now. The best of luck to you, Lord Mitsuhide." Hirotada and Sadanori both stood, bowed to everyone and began to leave.

However, before the two of them could exit, a guard rushed into the room. "Lord Mitsuhide! Saito Yoshitatsu's army has just arrived! He has sent Saito Toshizo to seek an audience with you!"

"Send him in. Quickly! Lord Hirotada, your input would be most appreciated." The guard left the room, and Hirotada and Sadanori both took their seats again. Toshizo then entered the room with Akechi guards following behind him, their weapons pointed at his back. With a wave of his hand, Mitsuhide dismissed the guards before speaking to Toshizo. "Well...?"

"It isn't pretty, Mitsuhide..." Toshizo stepped forward and handed him a scroll.

Mitsuhide opened the scroll and read it to himself before orating aloud for everyone to hear. "Lord Mitsuhide, I expect a total surrender of the castle, and that you and all of the members of the Akechi Clan present yourselves to me personally. Failure to comply will lead to the destruction of Akechi Castle, the deaths of all its inhabitants, as well as the deaths of my cousin Toshizo, your dear wife, mother, and brother... Signed, Saito Yoshitatsu, Lord of Mino." Mitsuhide dropped the scroll after he finished reading, and buried his face in his hands.

"Toshizo, do they really have them?" Haru asked and Toshizo nodded in response.

"Then you have to give yourselves up! You can't let Hiroko die!" Tsumaki Sadanori cried out. "Tell him, father!"

Hirotada hesitated before he spoke. "No, my son. This is Lord Mitsuhide's castle, his family, and his men. Thus, his decision." Sadanori grumbled but accepted his father's words.

Mitsuhide pulled away from his hands and looked to Haru, who shook his head as he was still trying to think of the right decision also. Mitsuhide then looked to Toshizo, he was sweating profusely and very fidgety. "Toshizo, are you going to be okay?"

"Of course, M-Mitsuhide." Toshizo's speech was very uneasy and shaky; Mitsuhide had never seen Toshizo so anxious before. Mitsuhide figured that something was wrong, for Toshizo usually stood tall, even in the face of death.

Mitsuhide stood and walked up to Toshizo. "Toshizo, I am your best friend. We grew up together, you can tell me anything."

With a sigh of great relief, Toshizo finally erupted. "Mitsuhide... Yoshitatsu plans to execute you all after you surrender, even your family that he has captured. He will then wipe out any who oppose him." This revelation caused everyone in the room to gasp in disbelief.

Mitsuhide hugged Toshizo; Mitsuhide knew it couldn't have been easy for Toshizo to reveal his lord's true intentions. "Thank you, Toshizo. You are a true friend. I suppose we have no choice but to resist."

"Mitsuhide, hold on. I have a bad feeling about this." Haru stood up as he spoke. "Don't you think it's a little odd that Yoshitatsu sent Toshizo to deliver this message? Someone who he knows is very close to you?"

Mitsuhide stopped hugging Toshizo. "I hope you're not questioning my trust in Toshizo?"

Toshizo nodded and pleaded to Haru. "Please, I'm not apart of any kind of secret plot!"

Haru stepped closer towards the two of them. "Perhaps you are, and you don't realize it, Toshizo. Let me ask you this, how did you know that Yoshitatsu really plans to execute us all?"

"Well... The strategist Takenaka Hanbei told me after Yoshitatsu told him."

"Why would Hanbei tell you such information?" Toshizo began thinking, but Haru continued before he could respond. "Because they knew you were going to tell us."

"Haru, that doesn't make sense. why wouldn't they want us to surrender?" Mitsuhide questioned.

"I-I don't know..." Haru turned with embarrassment and looked away from everyone else.

"I think I may have an answer." The quiet Tada spoke now. "Toshizo, how many soldiers did Yoshitatsu bring to siege our castle?"

"I guess... Around two thousand troops."

"I believe that's enough to scare us into thinking he's serious, but he'd have a tough time taking our castle of one thousand strong. Wouldn't you all agree?"

"So... Yoshitatsu must be trying to scare us to keep us inside of the castle, instead of going out to attack him." Haru exclaimed.

"You two think I should lead an attack on Yoshitatsu then?" Mitsuhide asked as he sat down again. "Lord Hirotada, what is your input?"

Lord Hirotada looked towards the ceiling and began to spoke. "I think what these two say has merit, and their advice should be heeded... It's just saddening that we will be unable to save my dear Hiroko." He wiped a few tears from his cheek, while his son next to him was sobbing loudly.

"Well, if it gives you any solace, Hiroko was being treated very well by Yoshitatsu, and she was still alive when he sent me here." Toshizo explained to the two Tsumakis.

"If only there was a way we could save Hiroko!" Sadanori howled as he wept.

"Hmm..." Mitsuhide stood again. "Haru, Tada, I'm putting you in charge of the attack. Ready our troops and report back to me once you are prepared to strike. Right now." They both bowed to their cousin and left the room, and now only Mitsuhide, Toshizo, and the Tsumaki remained. "Now then, I want to rescue Hiroko. By sneaking in."

"Mitsuhide, please. She is being kept with Lord Yoshitatsu in his camp, trying to save her would be suicide." Toshizo advised.

"Toshizo, I have a plan. I'm no ninja, but if I were to sneak in while Yoshitatsu was busy fighting against my army, I believe I could successfully get them out."

Toshizo looked down and rubbed the back of his neck. "I suppose there's a chance it could work. Since Lord Yoshitatsu's forces are scarce, I'm sure he would use all of his forces to defend against your attack."

"Lord Mitsuhide, Hiroko means the world to us, but you have a castle, a family and an army that you need to look after. Would these things be able to survive if you were lost?" Hirotada gave Mitsuhide a disquieting look.

Mitsuhide smiled at him in return. "Of course. If I were to fall over and die right now, there's no doubt in my mind that Mitsuharu would be able to run the Akechi in my stead. Perhaps even better than I am doing right now."

Unknown to Mitsuhide, Haru was standing right outside of the door as Mitsuhide praised him. Instead of feeling flattered or proud, Haru became distressed. Although Mitsuhide seemed to think he was ready to lead the Akechi, he did not regard himself so highly. Haru felt too under qualified and too inexperienced to take on Mitsuhide's burden. Haru shook his head, he knew that there was no time for thinking those kinds of thoughts. He opened the sliding doors and delivered his information to Mitsuhide.. "Our army is ready to strike on your orders, Yoshitatsu's army hasn't made any movements either, it seems they aren't in any rush to surround the castle."

"Good, thank you. Also, Haru, I'm placing you in charge of our army." Mitsuhide smiled at him.

"Mitsuhide! I'm sorry, but you're much more qualified to lead the army!" Haru protested.

"That was an order, Haru. Besides, I have something else I must take care of."

"What could be more important than defending the castle!?" Haru hadn't heard of Mitsuhide's rescue plan.

"If I told you, I'm sure you would object, but I have to do this. Just trust me, Haru."

Haru sighed and bowed to his brother, then Tsumaki Sadanori stood up quickly. "Mitsuhide! I'm going with you! Hiroko is my sister!"

Mitsuhide looked at Sadanori and then at his father. "Lord Hirotada...?"

Hirotada patted his son on the back. "It's your choice, Lord Mitsuhide. My son is a well-trained warrior, he would certainly be of help if you ran into any trouble."

Mitsuhide crossed his arms as he looked to Sadanori. "Alright, but you've got to listen to everything I tell you."

A large grin came across Sadanori's face. "Thank you, Mitsuhide. You won't regret this!"

"Toshizo, how far do you think Yoshitatsu's camp is from here?" Mitsuhide questioned Toshizo, who was still standing awkwardly in the center of the room.

Toshizo rubbed his neck. "Mitsuhide... You aren't going to hurt Yoshitatsu, are you?"

Mitsuhide blinked and looked at Toshizo oddly, that certainly wasn't the response he expected. "My single goal is to rescue my family."

Toshizo sighed and hesitantly spoke. "About five minutes away on horse."

"Good." Mitsuhide responded. "Haru, I want you to strike in ten minutes."

"I don't like the sound of this, Mitsuhide..." Haru uttered.

"I told you to trust me, Haru. Ten minutes, that's an order." Mitsuhide smiled as Haru let out a frustrated sigh, bowed to Mitsuhide and then left the room. "I'm sorry I have to do this, Toshizo, but I'm sure you understand. Guards, take Toshizo to the dungeon, but treat him with the utmost respect." Without any struggle, the guards disarmed Toshizo, and escorted him out of the room.

Tsumaki Hirotada now stood and spoke. "I will go help Lord Mitsuharu lead the army. Good luck, my sons." He smiled and left the room also.

Sadanori crossed his arms and looked at Mitsuhide. "Although my father may see you as a son, you'll never be a brother to me if we don't save Hiroko."

"We'll save her. I know we will. But we need to hurry." Mitsuhide assured him.


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks again for your reviews, guys! They mean so much to me!

To Arashi: Don't worry! Tama will definitely be a major character in this fic! The only reason she hasn't made an appearence is because the fic is currently in 1556 while I believe Tama wasn't born until 1563.

To Guest Warrior: First of all, thanks for all the additional information! Though, I hope you didn't think I'd do this fic without doing any research! ;)

I love Oichi's tragic story and I know there are a plethora of interesting events that took place without the Akechi, but this fic specifically will be centered almost exclusively around the Akechi family. However, I wouldn't be opposed to writing similar fics about other families or samurai of the era if it was requested. ;)

Don't worry about post-Yamazaki events, I don't want to spoil too much but as long as things go as planned, this fic won't end at Yamazaki and many of Hideyoshi's exploits and beyond will be included.

Hmmm, I'm going to check out TVTropes now! Thanks for that!

Thanks for the facts and thank you for reviewing!

* * *

Since Saito Yoshitatsu hadn't surrounded Akechi Castle, Sadanori and Mitsuhide were able to leave through the back and travel through the surrounding forest towards Yoshitatsu's camp. After a few minutes of traveling, Yoshitatsu's camp was in sight, but it was impossible to see if any of their family members were being held there. "We're going to have to wait for Mitsuharu to attack; Yoshitatsu's camp is too full right now." Mitsuhide said as they observed the camp in some bushes a couple hundred feet away from the camp.

"Well, they better hurry up! I wanna save Hiroko!" Sadanori exclaimed, before Mitsuhide shushed him.

It began raining as the two of them sat in silence, perfect for them, Mitsuhide figured, as it would make their movements even harder to spot. A couple minutes passed, and the gates of Akechi Castle opened, a large wave of bellflower banners flooded out towards Yoshitatsu's soldiers. Mitsuhide turned his attention back towards Yoshitatsu's camp, and it gradually emptied out, with many of its occupants leaving to the battlefield. He realized that it was as good a time as any to move. "Let's go!" Mitsuhide ordered, and the two of them ran towards the side of Yoshitatsu's encampment.

With all of the commotion, neither of them were spotted as they stuck close to the cloth walls that surrounded Yoshitatsu's rectangular camp. Mitsuhide shushed Sadanori again before slowly pulling out his katana and cutting a small slit through one of the cloth walls. He peered inside and scanned the small camp, he could see Yoshitatsu, Takenaka Hanbei and a handful of other samurai. His hopes of finding his family were almost gone when he finally laid eyes on them. The three of them were on their knees, tied up in the corner on the opposite side of the camp, and even in their debilitated state, Mitsuhide had never been more happy or relieved to see them.

Mitsuhide was about to tell Sadanori what he had saw, when a conversation suddenly caught his attention. "The reinforcements have been spotted, they will be upon us momentarily, Lord Yoshitatsu." He heard a samurai say.

"Well, your little trap worked perfectly, Hanbei. The Akechi have made themselves vulnerable and will fall quickly. I'm going to the battlefield, I want to ensure the destruction of the Akechi myself." Yoshitatsu responded as he stood up from his chair.

Before Yoshitatsu could leave the camp, one of their samurai retainers motioned towards their captives. "What do we do with them?"

"Right, I almost forgot about them..." Yoshitatsu looked at his bound and gagged prisoners. While Yasu and Hiroko were shaking and terror-stricken, Chieko calmly gazed at her captor. Yoshitatsu smirked at the relaxed Chieko before speaking. "Kill the old one and the child, we'll have to send the woman back to her family." Yoshitatsu took a few samurai and left, leaving only Hanbei and four other soldiers in the camp.

Hanbei sighed as Yoshitatsu left the camp, leaving him to do the dirty work. "Well, you heard him, bring those two over here." After Hanbei's orders, two men began dragging Chieko and Yasu to the center of camp where Hanbei sat.

Unable to restrain himself, Mitsuhide sliced through the cloth walls of the camp and ran into it. Before anyone could react, Mitsuhide lunged forward at the soldier dragging Chieko and slashed his torso. Mitsuhide then swung around towards the man dragging Yasu and stabbed him through his chest. Unable to dislodge his katana, Mitsuhide was defenseless as one of Yoshitatsu's men charged and swung at him from behind, fortunately someone jumped in between the two and stopped the soldier's sword from hitting Mitsuhide. Mitsuhide's savior wasn't Sadanori, who had instead ran over to the relatively safe Hiroko; it was Kani Saizo, Toshizo's bamboo samurai, who had also been in the camp. Saizo overpowered the soldier and knocked him unconscious by smacking him with the blunt end of one of his naginatas.

Hanbei groaned and slumped in his chair, knowing that he was defeated and outnumbered. "Mitsuhide, you're really starting to get on my nerves."

With the camp now free of any foes, Mitsuhide freed his katana from the dying soldier and turned to Hanbei. "I could say the same about you." He then looked at Saizo, who was now untying Yasu. "You're one of Toshizo's men, aren't you?" Mitsuhide asked.

Saizo nodded, his speech was muffled as he was chewing on a bamboo twig. "That's right. Kani Saizo's the name."

As Yasu was untied, he hopped up and hugged Mitsuhide tightly, he was still shaking in fear. Mitsuhide rubbed Yasu's head as he continued speaking to Saizo. "The whole Akechi Clan is in your debt."

Saizo bowed to Mitsuhide. "I just did what Toshizo woulda done."

"Toshizo would be proud." Mitsuhide untied his mother next, and she stood up and brushed her dress off when she was freed. Mitsuhide gave his mother a quick embrace and gave Yasu to her, before turning to see his wife.

"I'm fine! I'm not hurt, brother!" She exclaimed in an irritated tone, as Sadanori checked her body for any wounds, aside from the many scars that covered her body from her previous small pox disease.

"I wouldn't have to worry if your husband actually took care of you!" Sadanori shouted as Hiroko pulled away from him.

"He came and helped you save my life, didn't he!?" Hiroko yelled in response.

"Quiet! Both of you! Someone is going to hear us!" Chieko snapped, which silenced the squabbling siblings.

With their argument ended, Hiroko rushed into Mitsuhide's arms. Her eyes swelled with tears as the two held each other. "Mitsuhide... I was so scared." She uttered in a hushed tone.

"I was too... But I knew it would be okay. I wouldn't let anything happen to you, my love." Mitsuhide spoke silently as he held her.

"Lord Akechi, you should go now. Before any more of Lord Yoshitatsu's men come!" Kani Saizo urged.

"You must come with us! You saved our lives!" Yasu pleaded as he smiled up at the warrior.

"You'd better go with 'em, Saizo. I don't think Yoshitatsu would be generous enough to spare you twice." Hanbei suggested nonchalantly as he used his sundial to shield his head from the rain.


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks again for all the reviews, guys! I honestly did not realize this chapter was so short until reading over it before posting it, so in return I'll be posting the next chapter rather soon!

To Lord Mitsuhide, I'm glad to meet someone who shares the same favorite character as me! Motochika and the Chosokabe are going to be hugely important in this fic, so stay tuned for their arrival into the story! And you're welcome, writing this fic is my pleasure!

To Guest Warrior, I don't know if I'll be altering Oichi-dono's story but I suppose anything could happen! And I've checked out TVTropes and it did give me some useful informaton, thanks again for the tip!

To Arashi, I'm glad you're beginning to like one of my characters! I do admit that Saizo is one of my own personal favorite characters also! And I'm sure you'll appreciate the rest of the cuteness that'll show up in the coming chapters! :)

Since this is a nice, short chapter, I'll explain something that I regrettably left out of the previous few chapters. Right now, the fic is in Act I. I've decided to split this fic into different "Acts" which each make up a piece of Mitsuhide and the Akechi's life. Act I will be wrapping up soon and I will make sure to indicate when Act I shifts to Act II and so forth! (This whole "Act" idea is just a little experiment as this fic is a large experiment for my writing endeavors of the future).

Thanks again for your reviews, I hope you'll continue on this Akechi journey with me!

* * *

 _Act I: Mino_

Akechi Mitsuharu and Tsumaki Hirotada sat atop their horses, donning their armor and weapons. From the gates of Akechi Castle, Haru anxiously watched the brutal combat, made only worse by the storm above. Though Mitsuhide officially placed Haru in charge, Haru delegated every single movement of their army to the veteran Hirotada.

"We are gaining the upperhand," Haru eyes frantically shifted back and forth across the battlefield before he turned to Hirotada.

Hirotada nodded as he slowly scanned the battlefield, his eyes methodically surveying the battlefield. "Perhaps it is time to begin pushing the offensive."

"However... There is one thing troubling me, Lord Tsumaki." Hirotada's gaze now moved to Haru as he spoke. "Yoshitatsu had a much larger army fighting against Dosan, he had tens of thousands more troops there, and Dosan seemed all but defeated when we last saw them."

"Yoshitatsu is a very crafty man; there's no doubt he has more troops on the way..." Hirotada looked back to the battlefield and watched as Yoshitatsu's troops began to slowly pull back their attacks. "Still, if we keep up the attack and obliterate their current force, it may cost us some troops but it'll be a huge morale victory."

"So... We should begin going on the offensive?" Haru reached for his saihai, a samurai's tool for signaling the army, and unfastened it from his waist, ready to give the signal to his troops to attack.

"Not yet. Do we have any scouts that could-"

"Lord Mitsuharu!" Hirotada was interrupted by a yell from atop the castle gates; two panicked guards were looking down at the samurai. "A large force has been spotted approaching the castle from the south!"

The entire battle with Saito Yoshitatsu had taken place to the north of the castle. Akechi Castle had very limited troops, especially not enough for any rear guard to the south. Haru turned to Hirotada's wisdom once again. "That must be the rest of Yoshitatu's army... Hirotada, the south is completely exposed, we have nothing to obstruct their advance... What do we do?"

Before Hirotada could respond, the crisis became even worse for the helpless Mitsuharu. Tada, his armor stained with blood and drenched with water, huffed as he rushed to his brother. "Mitsuharu, thousands of more troops have arrived for Yoshitatsu! We're going to be overrun in a matter of minutes!" The urgency in his voice was obvious even as he attempted to catch his breath.

Haru's own breaths became heavy as the crushing pressure of the situation overwhelmed him; Haru looked to Hirotada but found no solace. The sudden stress was too much for Haru to handle as his vision became blurry and the voices all became a muddled mess. Haru buried his face into his hands and prayed for it all to end.

As Haru cracked under the pressure, Tada turned to Hirotada and desperately begged for his assistance. "Lord Hirotada, what can we do?"

"There is only one thing we can do now..." Hirotada uttered as he kept his eyes fixed on the battlefield. Everyone, Tada, the nearby group of guards, even the distraught Haru, all fell silent as they waited for Hirotada's answer. "Run."


	7. Chapter 7

I'm glad you're interested in my fic, Lord Mitsuhide! I can't wait until we get to that point either!

Yeah, it's exactly like the arc thing, Arashi! And the Akechi are a very resiliant bunch... :)

Thanks for the reviews!

* * *

The majority of the fighting took on the road and field between dense forestry; Mitsuhide led the group swiftly but with caution through the forest as he knew soldiers could be lurking around in the heavy brush. He also kept an eye on the battle; he noticed that even though his army seemed to have the upperhand, they were beginning to pull back towards Akechi Castle. "Come on, we need to go faster!"

Mitsuhide hurried the group's sluggish pace into running as he hoped to reach Akechi Castle before the gates eventually closed. Unfortunately, as Mitsuhide's party sped up, so did his army; it wasn't long before the Akechi army was safe behind the Akechi Castle gates. Although Yoshitatsu's army had not given chase to the fleeing Akechi troops, they were close enough to Akechi Castle that attempting to enter Akechi Castle from the relatively distant forest would be suicide for Mitsuhide and his group. Mitsuhide sighed as he stared helplessly at his castle; his sanctuary was so close yet so far. The small party decided to rest after their fruitless dash towards the castle.

"What are we gonna do now?" Yasu panted as he leaned up against a tree, trying to get as much cover from the light sprinkle above as he could.

Mitsuhide sighed as he sat down in some grass next to his wife. "Well, we aren't getting into the castle anytime soon."

"Haru and Tada didn't forget about us, right?" Yasu spoke with a nervous tone.

Mitsuhide shook his head and gave his brother an assuring smile. "Of course not. It's just not safe for them to leave the castle gates open. They know we can handle ourselves."

"Could we help them some way...?" Yasu asked.

"I was just thinking about that..." As Hiroko laid her head onto Mitsuhide's shoulder, an idea came to him. "There could be a way to help them. But it's all up to Sadanori."

"Huh? Me?" Sadanori had also sought cover from the storm under a tree when he heard his name.

"Yes. I'm sure your father has an army at Tsumaki Castle?" Mitsuhide rested his head on Hiroko's as he opened his wagasa and held it over them.

"He does..." Sadanori mumbled, seemingly trying to avoid the question.

"With your father gone, you are his heir which means you control the army, right?" This time, Sadanori did not respond, so Mitsuhide persisted. "Your father would do anything to save you, do you understand?"

"I don't know..." Sadanori's mumbling fell to an even more muddled speech.

Mitsuhide gently pulled away from his wife and handed her his wagasa before standing up and stepping towards Sadanori. "We need to go to Tsumaki Castle, your father may not have much time left if we don't help them as soon as we can."

"But that's my father's army, not mine-"

"Sadanori, we must do this for daddy. He would do the same for you or me." Hiroko interrupted Sadanori.

Mitsuhide nodded in agreement and Sadanori fell quiet before suddenly speaking in a rousing voice. "You're right! Our family has to stick together!" Although they all agreed, everyone rushed to shush him before he gave them away. "Uh... sorry."

Tsumaki Sadanori now led the group towards Tsumaki Castle. The castle was so close that it would only take the already exhausted group a couple hours to reach it. Halfway to Tsumaki Castle, the group abandoned the forest and began traveling on the road. There was silence between them, besides Saizo chewing on a bamboo twig and the occasional sigh of boredom from Yasuhide.

As they walked along, Saizo ended up walking next to the young Yasu, who was walking with his head hanging and arms limply dangling. Saizo looked down at the child and his obviously dreary composure. Saizo reached to the bamboo stalk protruding out of the back of his armor and snapped off a twig, he held it out in front of Yasu and offered it to him. "Here ya go, kid."

Yasu lifted his head and eyed the bamboo twig in front of him. "What am I supposed to do with it, sir?" Yasu questioned before he looked up at Saizo and saw him chewing on an identical twig. "Oh, nevermind." He said quickly before taking the twig and imitating Saizo.

"Focus on that and it'll make things a little less boring!" Saizo smiled at the boy.

"Alright, sir." Yasu quickly returned the smile as they both nibbled the small twigs.

"No need to call me sir! We're buddies! Just call me Saizo!"

Yasu's eyes shot over to his mother; she had a strict rule that demanded Yasu address all his elders properly. Chieko wasn't paying attention to the conversation as fatigue from the day's events had hampered her watchful gaze. Noticing his mother's lack of attentiveness, Yasu smiled up at his new friend and spoke cheerfully. "Okay, Saizo! You can call me Yasu!"

"Here's one for the road, Yasu." Saizo broke another twig off of his bamboo stalk and- much to Yasu's delight -slid it in the crevice between Yasu's ear and head.

Ahead of the two new friends was Mitsuhide and his wife. Hiroko walked close to him as she spoke in a hushed tone and made no eye contact. "Mitsuhide... What's going to happen now?"

Mitsuhide turned his head towards her but had his eyes fixed on the ground; he had no desire to make eye contact with her as his answer was indefinite. "I don't know... We'll figure it out."

"I knew this was coming...This is what I was always afraid of." Mitsuhide's eyes slowly drifted over to Hiroko's gloomy face. "War has finally reached us. You know what war does..."

"Love, we'll be alright." Mitsuhide reached for her bandaged hand as they walked to try to comfort her.

Hiroko gripped her husband's hand tightly but continued her spiel. "Our homes will be destroyed; our family will be torn apart."

"Before we got married, I asked you if you thought I could keep our family safe. And to only marry me if you thought that was true." Hiroko nodded up at Mitsuhide. "Do you still believe I can keep us safe?" Hiroko nodded again as her face scrunched up and her eyes watered. "Then there's no need to worry." Mitsuhide smiled but could not stop his own eyes from moistening from the sight of his wife's own somber look.

"Everyone! Look!" Sadanori called out as he pointed ahead. Only a few figures were in view a few hundred feet down the road at first, but suddenly the few became dozens, and the dozens into rows of soldiers.

"Come on! Into the forest!" Mitsuhide yelled and led the group into the nearby forest. All of the group except Yasu, who had fallen behind by slipping face first into a puddle of mud.

As they rushed into the forest, none of the group had immediately noticed Yasu's absence until he called out to them while attempting to get up. "W-Wait!" However, as he stumbled to his feet, Yasu lost his footing and dropped once again.

"Yasu!" Saizo was the first to react to Yasu as he quickly ran out of the brush and to Yasu's aid. "Don't worry! I got ya!" Saizo lifted up the muddy Yasu but as he looked up, there were two armed men on horses riding straight for them.

Saizo set Yasu down as quickly as he could before unsheathing his naginatas and taking a fighting stance. Yasu backed away as Saizo was soon joined by Mitsuhide who already had his katana in hand. "Go to mom, Yasu!" Mitsuhide instructed before Yasu started to run into the forest.

The horses and their riders stopped a few feet away from the ready Saizo and Mitsuhide. They were both large men; the younger of the two held no weapons in his hands yet had an assortment of different weapons on his back while the older man carried an ax in each hand. "You can fight us if you'd like, but we have an army." The older man said with a low, rugged voice.

Mitsuhide's eyes wandered to the army behind the horsemen as the man mentioned it. Eventually Mitsuhide eyed the banners, which bared a flower not much unlike the Akechi's own bellflower, flown by the oncoming soldiers and vaguely recognized it. Mitsuhide slowly lowered his katana and turned his attention to the two men. "Who is your lord?" Mitsuhide questioned.

The two men glanced at each other before a third horseman slowly walked his horse in between them. The men both bowed to the much younger and more distinct looking man. The man wore bright, baggy robes which contrasted with his dark features such as his jet black hair and facial hair. His eyes were as dark as his tied back hair, and they pierced Mitsuhide as he shot Mitsuhide a glance.

Mitsuhide mentally trembled at the man's foreboding presence yet he also found this man familiar, though he recalled as much about this man as he did the banners. "Who are you? You don't seem to be a part of the Saito."

The man looked to the crying sky and chuckled, revealing his deep, leisurely voice before he even spoke. He then stared back into Mitsuhide's eyes before uttering out his name. "I am Oda Nobunaga."


	8. Chapter 8

Thank you for the advice, Arashi, but let me offer an explanation for you. I've decided to mostly avoid Japanese terminology when I can use English terms. This is because of two reasons: firstly, I'm very very ignorant about Japanese terms, especially terms that refer to people and titles and such (which is why characters refer to superiors as 'Lord' like Samurai Warriors) and secondly, I don't exactly have the time to research all these Japanese terms and make sure I'm not using them incorrectly also. Thank you, and I will greatly consider using simple terms like the one you mentioned!

Since the next chapter is connected in a specific way, I'll be posting that chapter either tomorrow or later today!

* * *

As Mitsuhide heard the name in Nobunaga's own chilling voice, he now recalled who this man was. "Lord Nobunaga! I'm glad to see you! At least... I assume I am."

Oda Nobunaga was a son-in-law of Saito Dosan. Many years earlier, Dosan arranged a marriage between Nobunaga and his daughter, Noh, who happened to be Mitsuhide's cousin and one of his closest friends before she left with Nobunaga to the Kiyosu Oda's domain in Owari. Owari was also embroiled in a civil war though it had been present for much longer than Mino's; Owari and the Oda had splintered into many different factions all vying for control and Nobunaga ruled a faction that surrounded Kiyosu Castle. Mitsuhide initially believed he could trust Nobunaga due to his relationship with Dosan, yet Yoshitatsu had proved that any ties could be severed, even ties between father and son.

"I am Akechi Mitsuhide. Head of the Akechi Clan." Mitsuhide bowed respectfully to Nobunaga.

"Mitsuhide." Nobunaga said in a boorish tone. "Noh mentions you often. I don't see what she sees in you." Mitsuhide lifted his head and disregarded that comment. "But perhaps you could help me."

"Yes, Lord Nobunaga?" Mitsuhide sheathed his katana.

"I've received word that Dosan has been attacked by his son. You will take me to him."

At this point, an idea struck Mitsuhide. He looked toward Saizo, who was standing behind him, and winked. Saizo spit his bamboo twig onto the ground and Mitsuhide accepted that as Saizo understanding. Mitsuhide looked back at Nobunaga and conjured up his best poker face. "I know exactly where Dosan is! But we must hurry!"

Nobunaga now crossed his arms and nodded in acknowledgment. "Then let's be on our way."

"Hold on, Lord Nobunaga. Dosan's son has him surrounded in a castle with a large force. We need to gather even more troops than your own if we plan to take him on and relieve the siege. We were just headed to a castle that's just a bit further down the road where you came from."

"Impossible." Nobunaga shook his head. "That castle fired on us as soon as we confided that we were looking to assist Dosan."

"Huh!? My father's men would never do that! I'll go to the castle and get my father's troops!" Sadanori stormed out of the forest and next to Mitsuhide.

"You don't need to yell at our lord like that." The man with the many weapons scoffed at Sadanori.

"No need for that, dog." Nobunaga chuckled. "Mitsuhide. Take me to the castle where Dosan is held. Katsuie. I want you to take the dog and that man to his castle to get us more troops."

Katsuie, the scruffy man holding the axes, nodded. "Of course, Nobunaga."

Sadanori groaned. "What?! I have to go with these two!?"

Mitsuhide loosely grabbed Sadanori by his collar and gave him an irritated whisper. "These men are gonna help us save your father. So go along with them and be respectful. If they ask about Dosan... Tell them that he's at Akechi Castle. Got it?" Sadanori let out another frustrated growl as he nodded.

"Good." Mitsuhide ceased his whispers and released his grip on Sadanori. "Saizo... You wouldn't mind accompanying Sadanori, would you?"

"Alright, Lord Mitsuhide!" Saizo responded quickly.

"Come on, Hiroko! We're going home!" Sadanori yelled out into the forest, prompting Hiroko, Chieko, and Yasu to step out into the open.

Mitsuhide turned his head and gave Sadanori a baffled look. "Hiroko isn't going with you."

"You're damn right she is!" Sadanori growled at Mitsuhide.

"Both of you stop it." Chieko sighed in disappointment, feeling as though the two were embarrassing the entire clan in front of Nobunaga. "We'll remain with Mitsuhide for now. Just in case trouble brews at Tsumaki Castle."

Sadanori crossed his arms and pouted; he knew not to cross Chieko so he silently agreed. Nobunaga laughed at the dysfunctional family before quickly shifting to a serious tone. "Enough of this. Let's go." Nobunaga's horse began trotting passed everyone and towards Akechi Castle.

"Alright, I'll see you soon, Saizo. Keep an eye on Sadanori for me." Mitsuhide said to Saizo.

Before Saizo could respond, Yasu ran up to Saizo and hugged him around his waist tightly, getting mud from earlier onto Saizo's legs. "Saizo! You'll be okay, right!?" Yasu cried out.

Saizo laid his hand on Yasu's head and spoke optimistically, not even acknowledging his now muddy legs. "Of course I'll be fine! You gotta promise to be alright too!"

"I will!" Yasu smiled up at Saizo.

"Uh oh, this isn't gonna work!" As Saizo looked down at the young Yasu, he noticed that Yasu's bamboo stem that he had given Yasu was now muddy. "Here ya go! This should last you until I get back!" Saizo broke off two more stems from his bamboo stalks and handed them to Yasu; Yasu quickly stuck both of the stems in his mouth and grinned.

By this point, Oda soldiers started to walk passed them all. Saizo slowly pried himself away from Yasu and they said their final goodbyes. Sadanori and Saizo joined Shibata Katsuie and Maeda Toshiie- the one Nobunaga called a dog -on their way back to Tsumaki Castle while Mitsuhide took his wife, mother, and brother, and joined Nobunaga and his army toward Akechi Castle. As the two groups split, a brief, blinding flash from lightning covered the area before a loud, resounding boom of thunder filled all ears.


	9. Chapter 9

I've picked up on some Japanese terms myself from Samurai Warriors too, Arashi. xD

Thanks fo the review and I'm glad you love my story! That gives me so much motivation!

(By the way, I apologize if I begin updating this fic only weekly now, I'm starting to devote some time to other fics that I'm writing.)

* * *

Mitsuharu stormed into the keep of Akechi Castle, each of his steps a frustrated stomp as Mitsutada desperately tried to keep up with him.

"Mitsutada!" Hirotada called out as he also entered the keep. "Leave him be."

Tada stopped and watched as Haru continued his irritated trudge up the stairs. Haru began to furiously pull off pieces of his armor as he reached his chamber on the third floor of the keep. It started with his gauntlets, then spaulders, then finally his cuirass; each of these items were violently thrown across the large room with a resounding crash.

The blaring noises of Haru's fit drew the attention of several of the castle's maids and servants and they began to gather around the door of Haru's room. After noticing the group's presence, Haru gave them an icy glare. In a matter of moments, the onlookers dispersed, all of them but one. Tsumaki Hirotada was the lone bystander, and Haru quickly turned away from him. "You weren't ready for that kind of responsibility." Hirotada uttered as he let himself into the room.

"Don't you think I know that?" Haru spat with contempt. "If you're going to come in here, at least tell me something practical."

"I am letting you know this because it is important that you realize this doesn't have to happen again." Hirotada responded calmly.

"There won't be anymore battles." Haru still couldn't turn and look at the veteran as he continued. "This is it. We're dead. Don't tell me there'll be a chance to redeem myself. Because I know there won't be."

"There's no need to redeem yourself, Lord Mitsuharu. You did nothing wrong. No men died because of your actions. The only person that this has affected is yourself." Haru huffed at Hirotada's words; he knew they were true yet he did not want to accept it. "The battle isn't over. Put your armor back on and meet us in the council room." Hirotada left the room before even giving Haru a chance to respond.

"Damn it." Haru swore under his breath. "Damn you, Hirotada." With each new victim of his curses, his voice grew louder. "Damn you, Mitsuhide. Damn you, Yoshitatsu!" Haru now shouted. "Damn this castle! Damn it all!" Haru suddenly kicked his cuirass with as much force as he could, causing him to groan with pain as soon as he made contact with the strong piece of armor. Haru quickly sat down and held his now throbbing foot. "Damn hard armor..."

As Haru fruitlessly tried to nurse his foot, his eyes roamed around the room to the pieces of armor scattered around. Haru sighed and crawled on his hands and knees to gather each of the pieces of armor. Haru slowly stood up- attempting to avoid putting weight on his pained right foot -and dressed in his armor. Haru sighed as the pain of his foot lingered while he put on his gauntlets. He took the agony as a ramification from karma brought on by cursing those close to him. However, something tormented Haru much more than any physical pain would; he realized that he had no idea what was happening to Mitsuhide- arguably the closest individual he had in his life. Haru had no idea where Mitsuhide was, causing an innumerable amount of forlorn scenarios to swarm his thoughts. Haru now walked with purpose towards the council room, which was increasingly difficult as he had to limp along, yet necessary as he needed more information about Mitsuhide.

A few minutes later, Haru arrived in the council room. Seated inside the quiet room was a pitiful excuse of a war assembly; only Hirotada, Mitsutada, and a liberated Saito Toshizo were present.

"I'm glad you finally came, Lord Mitsuharu." Hirotada bowed his head to him.

"Tell me where Mitsuhide is." Mitsuharu demanded, not yet moving from the front of the room.

"I'm worried about Mitsuhide too, but don't you think there's more important matters at hand?" Tada uttered, slightly perturbed by Haru's commanding tone.

Observing Haru's frown, Hirotada quickly intervened. "Mitsuhide left the castle with my son some time ago. I've no doubt that they're hiding in the forest as we speak." Hirotada gestured for Haru to join the small ensemble. "Come. Sit. We need to figure out what to do."

Haru crossed his arm but proceeded to sit, although away from the other three. As Haru took his place, a brief, blinding flash from lightning covered the area before a loud, resounding boom of thunder filled all ears.


	10. Chapter 10

Well, I'll be starting a new long fic soon for the Elder Scrolls, so if you like that kinda stuff then you can check it out, Arashi!

This is a kinda long chapter so I hope there isn't too many errors!

* * *

Tsumaki Sadanori led the group of Kani Saizo, Maeda Toshiie and Shibata Katsuie, to his castle, which was only a short walk now. "Let's be careful." Katsuie warned as the castle came into view.

"Pfft." Sadanori scoffed and took no heed of the comment. "This is my family's castle. I have nothing to worry ab- Ahh!" In an instance, a loud bang resonated followed by blood flying through the air as Sadanori doubled over and then collapsed.

"Sadanori!" Saizo quickly dropped to his knees to help Sadanori; Saizo knew Sadanori wasn't dead yet as Sadanori was swearing loudly between groans. As Saizo turned Sadanori onto his back to assess his wounds, a barrage of bullets blanketed the surrounding area.

"Grab him and bring him over here!" Katsuie shouted as he joined Toshiie in taking cover behind a group of trees. Saizo quickly snatched up the injured Sadanori and scrambled over to join Katsuie and Toshiie.

Meanwhile, the gunmen were reloading their muskets as a tall, lanky samurai with lengthy, chestnut brown hair watched the targets run for safety. As he took out an spyglass to closely examine who had been hit, a shocking revelation hit him. "Stop firing! Stop firing, you idiots!" The tall samurai shouted. All of the gunmen ceased all movement and looked at him. "Damn it! You hit Hirotada's son!" The samurai began rushing down the steps of the castle walls to the ground, grumbling to himself the entire time. "This is the last time I use Bokuzen's troops!"

The samurai rushed to the castle gates where a group of his own troops were idly standing by. "Open the gates and come with me." He ordered as he took his helmets from one of his soldiers and put it on quickly.

"Yes, Lord Ittetsu!" The soldiers replied as they opened the gates. Inaba Ittetsu now hurried out of the gates and began to run to where he had seen Sadanori be dragged off to.

Although the firing had ceased, the group of four had not yet attempted to flee or reveal themselves at all. Saizo sighed in relief when he realized that the bullet had only grazed Sadanori's right shoulder- though Sadanori's exaggerated whines had made the injury seem much worse.

"I know you're back there!" Ittetsu shouted at the hidden four as he was just a dozen feet away from their hiding place. "Come out! We only want to help Sadanori and bring him into the castle!"

Both Saizo and Sadanori were familiar with Ittetsu's voice as he was one of the most powerful and famed generals of Mino. "This wound ain't too bad." Saizo murmured to Katsuie and Toshiie while he covered Sadanori's mouth silence him. "But I reckon he could still use some help."

"Do you really still trust them?!" Toshiie whispered in disbelief.

"What else can we do?" Saizo asked rhetorically. Toshiie now glanced at Katsuie who nodded. Saizo sighed and uncovered Sadanori's mouth. "I'll go first." Saizo whispered before standing up and walking out into the open in front of Ittetsu and his soldiers.

"Where is Hirotada's son?" Ittetsu questioned as he motioned for his troops to lower their weapons before holding his hands behind his back.

"He's still back there. He ain't hurt too bad; I'm just out here to make sure you ain't gonna kill us." Saizo responded. "I'm Kani Saizo. I work for Saito Toshizo and Saito Yoshitatsu, and I'm here to escort Tsumaki Sadanori back to his castle."

Ittetsu nodded as he spoke. "Welcome, Kani Saizo. You don't have Tsumaki Hirotada with you?" Saizo shook his head. "Very well. Come. Bring Sadanori."

Saizo slowly walked back into the forest and lifted Sadanori. "Come on, it'll be fine." Sadanori assured the Katsuie and Toshiie as he walked passed them. The two hesitantly joined Saizo on the way to the castle.

Ittetsu walked alongside Saizo as he carried Sadanori towards the castle. "Lord... Sadanori, is it? I deeply apologize for what my cohort's men did to you. I will make sure they are held accountable and you will be quickly taken care of."

Sadanori spoke for the first time since being shot; his tone was an angry one. "What are you people doing at my father's castle!?"

"Well, we're here with Lord Tatsuoki to ensure the Tsumaki's loyalty to Yoshitatsu, but Hirotada is nowhere to be found and everyone in the castle claims to not know where he is. Perhaps you could speak to Tatsuoki in your father's stead?" Ittetsu spoke as politely as he could.

"Just get me into the castle!" Sadanori growled.

"Lord Sadanori!" One of the castle's servants ran up to Saizo and the injured Sadanori. "Please! Bring him this way!" The servant urged Saizo to follow her as she rushed to a medical room; Saizo, Toshiie, and Katsuie followed her.

Ittetsu did not follow the group, instead he joined two samurai that were standing to the side and watching the commotion. Ittetsu shook his head as he looked at the two. "Damn it."

The older samurai with a gray beard folded his arms. "What is it?"

"That was Hirotada's son." Ittetsu took off his helmet and shook out his long brown hair.

"That's good, right?" The other, more stocky samurai asked.

"It didn't help that your men shot him, Bokuzen!" Ittetsu growled. "And that's not all, Morinari. The problem is that Hirotada's son is just as hotheaded as Tatsuoki. We're never going to get away from that brat." Bokuzen, the burly Samurai scratched the back of his neck and did not respond.

Ando Morinari, the eldest samurai sighed. "Damn. Did he tell you where Hirotada is?"

Ittetsu shrugged. "I didn't really ask. I hoped he could just handle it so we could get out of here quicker. I'm tired of babysitting this kid."

"I say we go ask him before Tatsuoki gets word of this. Hopefully he'll keep stuffing his face for a while longer." Morinari walked passed the two of them towards the room Sadanori was taken to.

"Typical Morinari. Not giving us a choice." Ittetsu huffed and began to follow Morinari. "Let's go, Bokuzen." Finally, Bokuzen followed the two as well.

Inside of the room, Katsuie, Toshiie, and Saizo were sitting around while nurses tended to Sadanori. The other trio of Morinari, Ittetsu, and Bokuzen entered the room. "How is he?" Morinari questioned a nurse.

"He'll be alright now, sir." She replied.

"Good. Leave us to him." Morinari dismissed the nurses and they all promptly left. Saizo closely watched the three famous samurai as they surrounded Sadanori in his bed.

"You know who we are, Sadanori. And you know what we need." Ittetsu said to Sadanori, who was lying in a padded bed with his right shoulder bandaged heavily. Sadanori turned his eyes away from Ittetsu, only to have Morinari at his feet and Bokuzen on his other side.

"You three! Get over here!" Sadanori demanded as Saizo was the first to stand and walk to them, with Katsuie and Toshiie following. "You can tell them what we're here to do. Hurry up and get them out of the way. We need to get my father."

"Your father!? Where is he!?" Ittetsu interrogated.

"What's going on here?!" Saito Tatsuoki yelled as he entered the room. Saizo's eyes widened as Tatsuoki entered the room while Ittetsu facepalmed and Morinari sighed while rolling his eyes. "Wait a minute... You again!?" Tatsuoki growled as he and Saizo locked eyes. "Grr! I'm not gonna ask again! What's going on!?"

The entire room was quiet for a few moments before Ittetsu- who had his back to Tatsuoki -turned to face Tatsuoki before speaking. "This is the son of Tsumaki Hirotada."

"Good! These stupid soldiers at this castle won't listen to me!" Tatsuoki walked towards the bed. "Outta my way!" Tatsuoki walked up to Ittetsu before shoving Ittetsu to the side; despite not resisting whatsoever, Ittetsu was fuming over Tatsuoki's brash actions towards him.

"Of course my people won't listen to someone like you." Sadanori sat up and glared at Tatsuoki.

Tatsuoki let out a muddled arrangement of angry noises before finally getting out some words. "Someone like me!? Do you know who I am!? I am Saito Tatsuoki, heir to the throne! I own you, your people, and this entire stupid castle!"

"As if! The only thing you deserve to own is the dirt on the ground! If that!" Sadanori shouted.

"You bastard! I'll kill you for this!" Tatsuoki spat back in rebuttal.

"We'll see about that, you good-for-nothing child!" Sadanori yelled.

"Guards!" Both Sadanori and Tatsuoki shouted simultaneously and soon soldiers piled up at the door. "Come take him away!" They both ordered together once again.

The soldiers stood baffled; they did not know whether to follow Sadanori's or Tatsuoki's orders. Tatsuoki became visibly distressed about the soldiers' hesitation as his plump, young face grew completely red. "Damn it! My father is the ruler of Mino! Do what I say!" Tatsuoki demanded at the top of his lungs.

"This is my father's castle and you are his loyal soldiers! Would you ever betray him!?" Sadanori bellowed with just as much intensity.

"Everybody! Be quiet!" Ittetsu cried out suddenly, managing to quiet the two deafening princes. Ittetsu sighed as silence fell upon the room. "Good. You two were giving me a headache." Tatsuoki's body now shook with rage after being interrupted by Ittetsu and he opened his mouth to speak but he was immediately silenced by Ittetsu covering his mouth with one of his hands. "Let me speak." Ittetsu continued. "Lord Sadanori, all we need is your pledge of allegiance to Saito Yoshitatsu. Then we can leave you be." Tatsuoki grabbed Ittetsu's hand and attempted to pull it away but Ittetsu was far too strong and his grip wouldn't be overpowered so easily.

"Whatever! We're loyal to him! I don't have time for this!" Sadanori huffed dismissively as he got off of his bed, walking to the guards at the door while cradling his injured arm. "We need to go rescue my father. Organize the army as quickly as you can and prepare them to march!"

Tatsuoki sudden slipped away from Ittetsu and began to yell again. "This isn't over! I don't want that bastard's word! I need to hear it from Hiro-whatever himself!"

As the guards ran off to follow Sadanori's orders, Sadanori himself froze in place after Tatsuoki's comment. Facing away from Tatsuoki, Sadanori clenched his fists tightly before swinging around and striking Tatsuoki's face with his left fist. Tatsuoki dropped to the floor from the sudden punch, staying on the ground near Ittetsu's feet as he pointed at his aggressor. "You three are here to protect me! Kill him! Kill him now!"

Ittetsu reached for his katana as he looked at Morinari. Morinari mulled over the situation and gave a shrug before finally nodding. Ittetsu dropped his helmet and unsheathed his katana, stepping close to the now cowering Sadanori. Before Sadanori could even cry for help, Saizo- who was standing at the opposite side of the bed -shoved Bokuzen out of the way and into the wall before he leapt onto the bed and then jumped again to plant his foot against the back of Ittetu's head and send Ittetsu crashing to the floor.

Almost immediately, all other weapons in the room were freed and clashing against each other. Tatsuoki squealed and crawled under the bed for safety while Sadanori slowly backed out of the room. Katsuie and Toshiie were locked in combat with Morinari and Bokuzen whereas the floor bound Ittetsu had swept his feet across the floor and tripped Saizo to the ground. Ittetsu and Saizo then began to brawl on the ground, throwing wild punches at each other while wrestling on the floor.

The bed began to be violently pushed around as the combatants on foot crashed against it, so much so that Tatsuoki's hiding spot no longer hid him. Tatsuoki began to crawl towards the door to safety before he was suddenly ran over and momentarily crushed by the combined weight of Saizo and Ittetsu; however, it didn't take long for their fighting to change positions and free the now sobbing Tatsuoki and allow him to crawl to safety.

Finally, Saizo gained the upperhand of Ittetsu and pinned him down on the floor. "Listen to me!" Saizo shouted. "We don't want to fight you! We just need to get to Hirotada!"

Ittetsu scowled as he panted under Saizo, quickly ceasing all resistance. "Fine! We'll let you go!" He angrily complied. Saizo released Ittetsu and watched him cautiously. "Bokuzen! Morinari! Hold!" Ittetsu shouted; Saizo's diplomacy could not have had better timing, as Katsuie and Toshiie were still locked in intense combat with Bokuzen and Morinari and either could sustain injury or lose their lives at any moment.

Eventually, the dueling warriors all separated themselves and peace fell upon the room. "We'll let them go." Ittetsu continued. "There's no need fighting this pointless battle for that brat."

Tatsuoki had scattered long before the fighting had ended, but Sadanori had just returned with help for Saizo and his companions. Saizo quickly rushed to stop Sadanori's aid. "There's no need." Saizo explained, heavily winded from the fight. "We've settled matters here. Let's focus on helping Mitsuhide."


	11. Chapter 11

"Lord Nobunaga, it's probably best if we stop here. The castle is just a little farther down the road and I don't think we want Yoshitatsu spotting us." Mitsuhide advised as he walked alongside the horseriding Nobunaga.

Nobunaga stopped his horse, and his troops halted also. Nobunaga dismounted his horse and stood head on with Mitsuhide. Nobunaga had broader shoulders, more height, and a larger build than Mitsuhide. "Come. I want to see this army for myself." Nobunaga said as he continued walking, while his army stood still.

Mitsuhide turned to his family and spoke quickly. "Stay here. I won't take long." Mitsuhide gave Hiroko a brief kiss, he did not want to part from his family again, even if it was just for a moment. "I love you all." Mitsuhide hesitantly began to follow Nobunaga towards Akechi Castle.

The rain had been flickering about for the past few hours, the weather rapidly and erratically shifting from a downpour, to a drizzle, and to brief moments of aridity. A steady sprinkle now covered the area as Akechi Castle and Yoshitatsu's sizable army came into Mitsuhide's view. As Nobunaga examined the army, Mitsuhide had noticed something different. The area was getting darker, but not from a heavier overcast, it was by the setting of the sun. "It looks like it'll be night soon." Mitsuhide murmured, he had not paid any attention to the time throughout the hectic day.

"How convenient." After only a couple minutes, Nobunaga had turned and already began walking back to his army. "We can attack at night. Infiltrate them. Confuse them."

Mitsuhide followed Nobunaga. "Attack them tonight?" Mitsuhide questioned. "We may not have enough soldiers..."

Nobunaga chuckled. "Size hardly matters. We attack them tonight, send them into chaos, force them to scatter, save Dosan. And take his son's head." Mitsuhide found Nobunaga's daring unsettling, but he also knew that Nobunaga could be his last chance to save the rest of his family so he decided to follow Nobunaga's strategy with no qualms.

Mitsuhide rejoined his family and turned to Nobunaga again. "I think it'd be best for your army to take cover deep in the woods, Lord Nobunaga."

"I suppose." Nobunaga called over one of his generals and soon all of his troops were headed into the forest.

"We're going to save your father, love." Mitsuhide smiled at Hiroko before turning his attention to Yasu and Chieko. "We'll save Haru and Tada too."

"But you're going to have to fight again, won't you?" Hiroko said gloomily.

"I can't help that, dear." Mitsuhide hugged her before holding her hand. "Let's get into the forest and try to get out of this rain." They all agreed and the four of them joined Nobunaga's troops in the woods.

Yasuhide groaned as they found a dry spot under a tree to sit at. "I'm so hungry. I haven't eaten all day!" All around them were soldiers eating rations while the family was left hungry.

"We're all hungry. I'm sure Nobunaga has some food. I'll be right back." Mitsuhide stood up and scanned around for Nobunaga. After a bit of searching, he left his family and walked over to the young samurai. "Lord Nobunaga." He bowed. "My family is very hungry. We were wondering if we could have any extra food you might have."

Nobunaga chuckled, sitting with his legs crossed. "No. There is no extra. My soldiers get what they need and nothing more."

Mitsuhide became visibly perturbed at Nobunaga's response, almost letting out a frustrated sigh before catching himself. "Are you sure?" He looked back at his family, all watching him with hungry eyes.

Nobunaga's face suddenly grew much more grim, as did his voice. "What I say is final."

Without another word, a defeated Mitsuhide returned back to his family with his head hanging. "I'm sorry. We'll get something to eat soon. I promise." Although no one said a word, the disappointment and dismay was obvious between their dreary faces and slumped over statures.

"Hey." An unfamiliar voice came from behind Mitsuhide and each of the Akechi looked towards it. The voice came from a soldier with a young, clean face holding out two balls of rice, and a ball of rice that had already been bitten. "Take these."

Mitsuhide glanced back at his family. Yasu was nodding fervently before Chieko grabbed and pulled on his ear to stop him. "Ow! Ow! Ow! I'm sorry!" Yasu cried.

Mitsuhide turned his attention back to the soldier as the soldier began to speak again. "Hurry. Give them to your family before Nobunaga sees." The soldier urged as he held the balls of rice to Mitsuhide's chest.

Eventually, Mitsuhide accepted the charity and took the food, then distributing it out to his family, Yasu got a full rice ball, Mitsuhide began to give his mother a full rice ball yet she denied it in favor of the half eaten rice ball, leaving the full rice ball to Hiroko. Hiroko took the rice ball and split it in half, Mitsuhide did not want to accept it but he could not deny his wife's loving gesture and took the half. Immediately, the Akechi began to eat their small meal ravenously.

As Hiroko came down to her last bite, she saw their donor out of the corner of her eye begin to return to his original place. "Wait! Sir!" Hiroko urged. The soldier quickly turned and looked at Hiroko with a curious face.

"We never got a chance to thank you." Hiroko said, with now the rest of the Akechi looking at the soldier.

"Yeah! Thank you, sir!" Yasuhide exclaimed with a full mouth.

"There's no need to thank me." The soldier smiled at the gratitude.

"Of course there is! You gave your food to us." Hiroko smiled back at him.

"I did what anyone should do." The soldier said nonchalantly.

"Not Nobunaga, apparently." Mitsuhide uttered spitefully.

"I know that Nobunaga appears to be cruel but he only does what is necessary to fulfil his goals. He makes no exceptions and has no deviations. His ways aren't celebrated, but they're effective." The soldier admitted. "I should go back to my squadron now. You are all very nice people and it was a pleasure." The soldier smiled and bowed to them.

Mitsuhide stood up and bowed back to the soldier. "I am Akechi Mitsuhide. You really helped my family. Thank you."

The soldier's smile grew. "It was my pleasure. I am Mimaki Kaneaki."

"Well, one day, I'll have to repay you properly, Kaneaki." Mitsuhide said joyfully.

"Thank you, Lord Mitsuhide. Farewell." Kaneaki bowed once more before rejoining his fellow soldiers.

Mitsuhide sat down and rejoined his family. Yasuhide let out a hushed sigh and mumbled. "If only he had a little more..."

"Be grateful for what you got." Chieko scolded.

"Yes, mother..." Yasu crossed his arms before yawning.

"Come here, Yasu." Chieko suddenly spoke with more affection to her son. Chieko- sitting with her knees together -laid her son's head on her lap as he curled up on the ground and yawned once again.

"Sleep tight, Yasu." Hiroko smiled at Yasu as his eyelids slowly closed.


	12. Chapter 12

I went on a bit of a hiatus, so sorry everyone! School just really drains me of my motivation to write sometimes! ^^'

I'm glad you liked my fic so far, sis!

I'm glad you have internet again, Arashi! I really do like that Mitsuhide and Hiroko were said to love each other despite Hiroko's disfigurement because it makes for such a good story! I do love adding historical characters that are otherwise ignored in the games so I'm glad you're enjoying that!

Thanks for the reviews! I'll have more important notes at the end of the chapter so make sure you read that too!

* * *

The sky quickly darkened and it was nearly pitch black only a few minutes after Yasu fell asleep. "Listen! Everyone!" Nobunaga called out. "There are to be no fires made. Not for light nor warmth. We will wait in darkness for our help to arrive and then we will develope our attack strategy."

Mitsuhide sighed and pulled Hiroko close, whispering softly to her. "Despite being wet and cold, having you with me is enough to warm me more than the warmth the sun could provide."

Hiroko chuckled as she nestled against him. "There you go with your silly poetry again."

"You giggle at them now, but I know it helped win over your heart." Mitsuhide squeezed her gently.

"Perhaps." Hiroko said sarcastically before continuing in a more genuine tone. "But it wasn't necessary. I always loved you."

"Always?" Mitsuhide sounded intrigued.

"Always..." She paused. "I'm so lucky, love. Most women are used as nothing but leverage, forced to marry someone that they don't love. But I got to marry the man I love." Hiroko sighed as Mitsuhide lied down and held her head to his chest. "I was really scared, Mitsuhide."

"Scared? You mean... Today?" Mitsuhide asked as they both stared up at the abundance of stars in the sky through a gap in the trees.

"No. Back then. Ten years ago. When we were supposed to get married..." Hiroko now yawned after speaking.

"I remember, love. I was scared too. But I told you that nothing could break my love for you." Mitsuhide assured her while gently stroking her hair. "It's been a long day. I think we should get some sleep."

"I'm glad to hear that... Goodnight. I love you." Hiroko agreed drowsily before closing her eyes and quickly falling asleep.

"I love you too." Mitsuhide whispered affectionately.

He stared up at the stars a while longer, attempting to stay awake until the Tsumaki's arrival; however, he found his eyelids growing heavier and heavier with each passing moment. Eventually, he succumbed to his drowsiness and let his eyes close.

"Mitsuhide! Mitsuhide!" He heard a voice call to him as his eyes slowly opened. "Mitsuhide! You have to get up! Something happened!"

"What?" Mitsuhide sluggishly sat up from his bed, rubbing his eyes before looking at Saito Toshizo. The room was bright and full of natural light from the sun shining through some open windows.

"It's Hiroko... She's gotten worse. Much worse." Toshizo said grimly.

"What!? She's alive, though!? Right!? Right!?" Mitsuhide spoke frantically before stumbling up to his feet and dashing to his door.

"Mitsuhide! Mitsuhide! Wait!" Toshizo called out which made Mitsuhide stop at his door. "Calm down. She's alive. And you're going to want this." Toshizo held out Mitsuhide's robe.

"Oh, thank you." In his haste, Mitsuhide had forgotten he was wearing no clothes. He took the robe and quickly put it on before exiting the room. Mitsuhide rushed through the halls of Inabayama Castle. A few moments later, he approached a room with a small crowd outside of it. The group was made up of mostly Tsumaki members, but also included Mitsuhide's mother holding her newborn baby Yasuhide in her arms. "What's going on?" Mitsuhide asked his mother, who was the first to approach him.

"Mitsuhide. They don't know if she'll make it." A younger, dark haired Chieko sighed.

Mitsuhide's emotions were already frail, but that sentence brought him to tears. Tsumaki Hirotada was the next to approach Mitsuhide. "I'm sorry, Mitsuhide." Hirotada had obviously been shedding his own tears as evidenced by his red eyes. "I know you two were supposed to wed, but please, you may have my younger daughter instead."

"I don't want her! I love Hiroko!" Mitsuhide shouted suddenly, grabbing everyone's attention. He forced his way through the crowd to the door.

"Mitsuhide! Don't do it! Don't you know how infectious smallpox is!?" Hirotada warned.

"Don't go in there. I'm not losing my son." Chieko added strictly.

Mitsuhide looked back and glared at them both for a brief moment before disregarding their commands and entering the room. Toshizo arrived as soon as Mitsuhide walked in and began to follow Mitsuhide in. "Don't worry. I'll make sure he'll be alright." He called out to Mitsuhide's mother and Hirotada.

Inside of the room, morning sunlight from the window shined directly on the bed where Hiroko lay motionless. The entire room had been cleared of all possessions except for that single bed. "Hiroko...?" Mitsuhide approached the bed with tears streaming down his face. Her body was turned away from the door so all he could see was her long black hair.

"My love..." Hiroko muttered in a weak, raspy voice.

"Hiroko, are you okay?" Mitsuhide stood at the side of the bed, trying to fight off the tears and sniffling to seem optimistic to Hiroko.

"They told me, I'd be okay..." Hiroko coughed. "But I think they're lying."

"No, they're not. You'll be okay. I swear." Mitsuhide said confidently, ignoring Toshizo's entrance into the room.

"Mitsuhide... I'm so sorry."

"Why are you sorry, my love? This wasn't your fault." Mitsuhide rubbed her shoulder through the blanket, but was discouraged by the feeling of multiple bumps along her skin.

"I ruined everything, Mitsuhide... We were supposed to be married. Now you can't marry me..." Hiroko's voice became increasingly somber.

"Of course I can. I love you. Nothing can break my love for you." Mitsuhide tried to convince her.

"I'm hideous, Mitsuhide!" Hiroko shouted, which quickly elicited coughing. "I look like a monster! A freak!"

"Hiroko, I-" Mitsuhide started to speak, before Hiroko slowly turned her body to face him to prove her point. Mitsuhide was stunned by Hiroko's disfigured face; he knew the dangers of smallpox but he had never witnessed the effects firsthand. Hiroko's face and neck were covered in a multitude of grotesque blotches and lumps that varied in size and shape.

The sight was too much for Toshizo. He had to turn away from the display and then struggle to not vomit. However, Mitsuhide acted as if nothing was wrong. Instead, he smiled at Hiroko and spoke happily. "What matters to me is that you're alive."

Hiroko gasped at Mitsuhide's response. She was speechless. "But... But..."

Mitsuhide kept his smile and spoke happily. "I love you. As soon as you get better, we're going to get married. As long as you still want to marry me."

"Of course. I love you too!" Mitsuhide had coaxed out the first feeling of happiness from Hiroko ever since her illness began.

Toshizo walked up behind Mitsuhide and put his hand on Mitsuhide's shoulder. "Mitsuhide... We should go. You know you can't stay exposed to this for too long."

Mitsuhide forcefully pulled his shoulder away from Toshizo's grip. "I'll go when I want." He growled.

"No... My love..." Hiroko intervened. "He's right. He's your best friend... He knows what's best."

Mitsuhide sighed. "I won't be gone for long. I'll come visit you as often as I can."

Hiroko gave another smile. "I know you will... I'll see you soon."

Mitsuhide smiled, wanting to give his lover a kiss but unable to muster the mettle to kiss her in her nauseating state. "I love you."

"I love you too..." Hiroko replied.

Finally, Mitsuhide pried himself away from Hiroko and exited the room with Toshizo close behind him. Mitsuhide walked passed the crowd around the door; many tried to speak to him but he ignored them all and walked passed them. Toshizo sighed as he joined Mitsuhide. "Um... Mitsuhide?"

"Yes?" Mitsuhide answered as they both walked into his room.

"Are you really still gonna marry her?" Toshizo asked.

"Of course." Mitsuhide turned to Toshizo. "Why do you ask?"

"Mitsuhide... I don't want to be rude, but..." Toshizo crossed his arms and looked around while he searched for the right words to use. "You know she'll never be the same."

Mitsuhide frowned at Toshizo. "I know."

"Do you?" Toshizo asked. "Hiroko used to be one of the most beautiful ladies in all of Mino. She'll never look like that again."

"I. Know." Mitsuhide paused between each word and spoke sternly.

"Then why do you still insist on marrying her?" Toshizo persisted.

Mitsuhide sat down with his legs crossed. "There are many reasons."

Toshizo himself rested on his knees. "I'm curious."

"Toshizo. How long have you and I been friends?" Mitsuhide questioned.

Toshizo was surprised by the seemingly off topic question, but quickly replied. "All our lives. I'd say."

"Now picture that we're both on the battlefield. I just took an arrow to the knee. No wait. To the chest." Toshizo nodded as Mitsuhide spoke, still unaware of the point of this story. "Lord Dosan just ordered the army to retreat. Do you abandon me so that you have a better chance to escape or do you help me?"

"I help you. Without a doubt!" Toshizo urged.

Mitsuhide nodded. "Exactly. We've know Hiroko since we were children. This isn't a battlefield and she hasn't been struck by an arrow, but she's been struck by something even more deadly. I can't abandon her. I can't leave her to die."

Toshizo shook his head and stood up. "I understand, but those two situations just aren't the same!" He urged. "The Akechi is one of the most prominent clans of Mino. You can have any young, beautiful wife in the land."

"I can't betray her like that. She means too much to me. I love her, Toshizo." Mitsuhide admitted.

"This is real life, Mitsuhide! This isn't some old Heian Period tale! Love like that doesn't exist!" Toshizo said sharply.

"You're too pessimistic." Mitsuhide responded. "We've been blessed. You, me, and Hiroko. We've all been blessed with being born into some of the most powerful families in the land. We're not just some peasants that will never have anything in life. We've been given something great. I'm not going to take what we have for granted. I'm going to use this gift to its full extent, including marrying someone I truly love and want to be with."

Toshizo nodded his head and looked down at the floor. "I see." He responded quietly.

"Toshizo." Toshizo looked up and Mitsuhide smiled at him. "I need your support in this."

"You'll always have my support. Always." A small smile grew on Toshizo's face.

"That's what I like to hear." Mitsuhide reached forward and put his hand on his friend's shoulder

"Mitsuhide... Mitsuhide. Get up." Mitsuhide's vision began to blur as he heard a voice call his name. "Mitsuhide. Wake up." The voice persisted.

Mitsuhide's eyes slowly opened, but it was too dark to see much of anything. "What...?" Mitsuhide said drowsily to the familiar figure kneeling above him.

"It's Saizo. We just got Sadanori's army. Nobunaga's callin' everyone together." Saizo spoke quietly in an attempt to not disturb the other Akechi members.

Mitsuhide yawned as he slowly woke up. "I'll be there in a moment." His arms were still tightly wrapped around his wife.

* * *

Well, I hope this chapter wasn't confusing to anyone! This was my first time attempting a flashback/dream in a story and to be honest, I had no idea how to transition properly so I hope it was alright. I'm planning on doing this multiple times throughout the fic so if anyone has any tips on doing better dream/flashback scenarios, make sure to let me know!

Thanks for reading!


	13. Chapter 13

I'm finally back from a very long hiatus. I hope people will still find this attempt at a somewhat realistic fanfiction interesting!

Please leave a comment if you enjoy! I love interacting with you guys! ^^

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Mitsuhide sighed as Kani Saizo walked off; he did not want to leave Hiroko's side, but he knew he had no choice. "Hiroko," he whispered to his wife in his arms.

"I know," Hiroko responded almost immediately, much to Mitsuhide's surprise. She slowly lifted herself off of him, "Please be safe."

Mitsuhide sat up and hugged his wife, "I will. I love you."

Hiroko wrapped her arms around him tightly and kissed his cheek, "I love you too."

They slowly broke their hug and Mitsuhide stood up, "I'll be back soon."

Mitsuhide drowsily stumbled through the dark in the direction Saizo went. The air was still moist and thick though the rain had stopped; the occasional flash of lightning and boom of thunder showed that the storm was not over. Suddenly, a flame appeared. Though small, it shined through the complete blackness.

Mitsuhide walked to the flame and there stood Nobunaga, Saizo, Toshiie, Katsuie, and finally the injured Sadanori- whose arm was bandaged. "Sadanori... Are you alright?" Mitsuhide asked as he laid eyes on the wounded arm.

"I'm fine. You're lucky I came back out here after this," Sadanori grumbled in response.

"What happened over there?" Mitsuhide questioned with a yawn.

"Well, we ran into Saito Tatsuoki and Inaba Ittetsu," Saizo answered. "We should probably get this done quickly. I dunno if they're on their way."

"Good. Enough useless talk. It is time to save Dosan," Nobunaga continued. "We need to get contact with inside of the castle."

"Contact..." Mitsuhide muttered; he had an idea but had no idea how to carry it out. "There is one way."

"Speak," Nobunaga uttered, all eyes now on Mitsuhide.

"In case of a siege, Lord Dosan had each castle place flammable towers that were to be burned if reinforcements to relieve the siege were on the way," Mitsuhide stated. "But... I'm sure Yoshitatsu knows this. And probably already destroyed the towers." No one in the group responded, so Mitsuhide spoke up again, "There is one more place we could light a signal fire. Inside of the village outside of the castle is a tower, it also has a place for a fire to be lit."

"How will we let the castle know it's us and not Yoshitatsu trying to lure them out?" Kani Saizo asked.

"There is no way," Nobunaga responded. "We'll light the flame and then fire upon Yoshitatsu's men. That will cause them to get out of the castle and help."

"How are we going to get inside of the village to light this fire?" Katsuie questioned lowly.

"This is Mitsuhide's land. Surely he knows a way." Nobunaga chuckled.

All eyes fell upon Mitsuhide, who sighed and rubbed the side of his head. "I suppose," Mitsuhide spoke apprehensively- truly having no idea on how to get into the center of the village.

"With all this rain, how'll you light the fire?" Saizo asked.

"Thankfully the tower is roofed. Hopefully the wood is dry enough to start a fire," Mitsuhide crossed his arms and sighed.

"Good," Nobunaga said before looking at Toshiie and Katsuie, "Dog, get Mitsuhide some firestones and send him on his way. Katsuie, ready the men to strike at a moment's notice of the fire being lit. Especially our gunmen." Katsuie nodded and began gathering the men, while Toshiie walked away.

"Sadanori, I want you to follow Nobunaga's orders, understand?" Mitsuhide said quite sternly to Sadanori.

Sadanori rolled his eyes and grumbled, "Alright, I'll do it."

"Saizo," Mitsuhide then looked to Saizo, who was standing at his side.

"Yeah, Lord Mitsuhide?" Saizo answered.

"You have been..." Mitsuhide paused, "Very helpful to me today. You've saved my family. Saved me. I wouldn't be here without you, and I don't know how to thank you," Mitsuhide smiled at him.

Saizo grinned widely and looked away from Mitsuhide bashfully, "Dontcha' think you're being a little too kind?"

"Not at all." Mitsuhide chuckled, before his voice became more serious, "You're the only person I can rely on here. I know this mission is almost suicide, so I won't command you to come with me, but... I'm asking you to come with me."

"Of course I will! It's what Lord Toshizo woulda wanted me to do!" Saizo responded confidently.

"No. Saizo," Mitsuhide responded. "I know you're infinitely loyal to Toshizo, but I'm asking you, not him. Will you, Kani Saizo, come with me?"

Saizo looked confused for a moment, but finally nodded. "Yeah, Mitsuhide," Saizo sighed and spoke lowly. "I just know how close you and Lord Toshizo are. He wouldn't be too happy if I didn't protect you or your family," Saizo shrugged now. "But it's not all about servin' Lord Toshizo. I kinda wish I had a bond like you two had. I thought maybe being as loyal as possible would help with that," Toshizo chuckled as he spoke.

"I understand," Mitsuhide smiled and nodded. "Saizo, when all of this is over, you, Toshizo, and I will all get a drink and celebrate our new friendship."

"Thank you, Lord Mitsuhide," Saizo grinned.

"No need to call me lord; we're friends, Saizo."

"I'll stop calling you lord once we get outta this alive," Saizo joked.

Nobunaga crossed his arms as he watched the two speak. "Interesting," he mouthed to himself.

"Good luck, you two," Toshiie said to Mitsuhide and Saizo as he handed Mitsuhide a couple small bags. "The firestones are in that one," he pointed to a larger bag. "And I put some gunpowder in the other one, in case you can't get the fire going. But be careful, that stuff is dangerous."

"Thank you," Mitsuhide nodded and took the bags and tied them to his waist. "Let's go, Saizo," Mitsuhide said with a sigh. Saizo nodded and followed Mitsuhide toward the end of the forest.

Mitsuhide stopped as they reached the edge of the trees and the village was in clear view; he turned back and looked into the empty forest. Kani Saizo threw his arm around Mitsuhide's shoulders and spoke quietly, but jubilantly, "We'll getcha' back to your family. Don't worry."

"Of course," Mitsuhide nodded, before the sky caught his glimpse. Slivers of moonlight penetrated the dense overcast, and Mitsuhide hoped that it would not be enough light to give them away. "Now let's hurry."

Mitsuhide surveyed the area from their spot in the brush. Luckily, most soldiers had taken refuge inside of the village buildings, and the outside was sparsely guarded. "All eyes will be on the castle. That should help," Mitsuhide whispered to Saizo. Mitsuhide continued to scan the village as well as he could. Each soldier forced to have guard duty outside held a torch, or at least the ones that Mitsuhide could see. He was worried that some may be lurking in the darkness, but it was going to be a risk he had to take.

"I don't know how we can sneak by them without taking out at least a couple," Mitsuhide whispered to Saizo. Saizo nodded, and they both hurried for cover behind a building. They stayed low to the ground and- from what they could tell -out of sight from any guards. Although their time in the open was only brief, it felt like an eternity to Mitsuhide. He was already breathing heavily and attempting to gather himself.

Mitsuhide took a deep breath and looked back at Saizo, gesturing for him to follow. Mitsuhide began slowly walking towards the edge of the wall, staying as tightly pressed to the building as possible. Mitsuhide and Saizo continued to weave their way past buildings and guards through the cover of the rain, until finally they approached their destination. Now in a small alley, they could see their target. However, an unaware guard standing at the exit of the alley- and several feet of open space -separated them from the tower. Mitsuhide turned to Saizo and put a finger to his own lips before slowly approaching the lone soldier from behind. Mitsuhide unsheathed his katana as slowly, and silently, as he could manage; he knew that there was no honor in stealthily killing another, but it was necessary. Besides, he figured, Yoshitatsu had already committed the most dishonorable act of them all. Mitsuhide stepped directly behind the guard before swiftly covering the guard's mouth and stabbing his katana through the guard's upper back. Unfortunately for Mitsuhide, the guard struggled much more than he had anticipated; Mitsuhide was forced to wrestle the man to the muddy earth beneath them and hold him down until his body fell limp.

Saizo helped Mitsuhide- who was now covered in mud -to his feet and together they dragged the body deeper into the alley. The two of them now approached the edge of the alley, and stared down the tower in front of them. Lightning struck and thunder soon followed as they hesitated. There were guards around, but none of them seemed to be paying particular attention to the tower. Mitsuhide and Saizo looked at each other, and nodded in unison; the two of them took off running towards the tower. As they were just steps away from safety, Saizo hit a particularly deep spot of mud and tumbled to the ground. Almost immediately, shouting could be heard and guards began to close in.

Mitsuhide stopped momentarily to help Saizo until Saizo yelled, "Go! I'll be alright!" Mitsuhide- having great confidence in Saizo -complied and dashed up the tower as quickly as he could. After reaching the top of the nearly thirty-foot tower, Mitsuhide grabbed the firestones and attempted to light the large abundance of wood. Although the tower was roofed so the wood was still dry, the fire would not light. Mitsuhide could now hear the sound of battle beneath him. Although he had not wanted to use the gunpowder as he was unfamiliar with the substance, he had no choice; Mitsuhide dumped the bag of gunpowder on the wood, and once again began to grind the firestones together to generate sparks. The first spark to hit the wood suddenly created a giant, unruly flame; the flame's rapid formation shocked Mitsuhide and caused him to jump backwards, which made him slip from his muddy sandals and tumble off of the tower onto the mud below with a sloshy thud. Mitsuhide groaned as he laid flat on his back with rain pouring on him. Though his senses were shoddy from the impact, he could hear the loud cracks of gunshots, the shouting of men, and the ongoing boom of thunder. Mitsuhide tried to lift himself up, but he was too dazed and clumsy to stand; he finally collapsed in the mud.


End file.
